IvIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  fpom 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/artofteachingschOOsyphrich 


THE 


Art  of  Teaching  School. 


A  MANUAL  OF  SUGGESTIONS 

FOK  THE  USB  OP 

TEACHERS  AND  SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES,  SUPERINTEND- 

ENTS,  CONTROLLERS,  DIRECTORS,  TRUSTEES  AND 

PATRONS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  HIGHER 

INSTITUTIONS   OF  LEARNING. 


HOW  TO  ESTABLISH,  ORGANIZE,  GOVERN  AND  TEACH  SCHOOLS 
OF  ALL  GRADES,  AND  WHAT  TO  TEACH. 


By    J.    R.    SYPHER, 

AOTHOR  OF  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  "  History  of  New  Jersey, 
"American  Popular  Speaker,"  etc 


^^     OF  THE  . 

UNIVERSITY  ^» 


PHILADELPHIA : 

J.    M.    STODDART    &    CO. 

J.  A.  BANCROFT  &   CO. 

CHICAGO  AND   INDIANAPOLIS: 

A.  H.  ANDREWS  &  CO. 

ST.    LOUIS: 

WESTERN  PUBLISHING  AND  SCHOOL  FURNISHING  CO. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

J.   M.   STODDART  &  CO.. 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Westcott  &  Thomson,  Henry  B.  Ashmead, 

Stereotyjpers  and  EUctrotyfers,  Philada.  Printer,  Philada. 


PREFACE. 


The  State  establishes  public  schools  for  the 
economical  education  of  youth,  in  the  element- 
ary departments  of  useful  knowledge.  These 
schools  are  supported  by  a  general  tax,  and  are 
for  the  use  of  all  the  people.  Whenever,  by 
systems  of  organization,  by  courses  of  study 
or  by  methods  of  instruction,  their  usefulness 
is  impaired,  the  object  of  the  State  is  defeated, 
and  the  Commonwealth  suffers  injury.  In  some 
portions  of  the  United  States  this  defeat  and 
this  injury  are  already  experienced.  This  book 
has  been  written  in  the  belief  that  its  contents 
will  assist  those,  who  are  laboring,  as  school  offi- 
cers, teachers  and  patrons,  to  restore  the  system 
of  public  education  to  its  normal  life,  and  to 
make  the  public  schools  serve  the  ends  for  which 
they  were  established. 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  29, 1871. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

EDUCATION, 13 

General  Principles 13 

The  Mind — Natural  Order  of  Development 14 

The  Sources  of  Knowledge 16 

Methods  of  Acquiring  Knowledge 19 

The  Operation  of  the  Faculties 20 

The  Importance  of   Methodical   Development  of 

THE  Intellect 21 

Conditions  for  the  Process  of  Educating 23 

Natural  Process  to  be  Encouraged 24 

Public-School  Education 25 

Professional  Training  for  Teachers ;.  ^o 

CHAPTER  II. 

DISCIPLINE 32 

Governing  Forces 32 

The  Uses  of  Discipline 35 

Theory  without  Practice 36 

Natural  and  Artificial  Systems 1% 

Scope  of  Public-School  Education 40 

The  Importance  of  the  Physical  Sciences 42 


O  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III 

PAGB 

SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES. 45 

Local  Authorities 45 

Duties  of  Local  Authorities 46 

schoolhouses 47 

Furniture 48 

The  Grounds 49 

City  Schoolhouses 50 

School-Term 51 

Course  of  Study 53 

Adoption  of  Books 56 

Salary 60 

Examination  and  Employment  of  Teachers — Higher 

Qualifications — Professional  Certificates 63 

Supervision — Out  of  School 68 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ORGANIZATION. 74 

Visiting  Patrons 74 

Order  of  Exercises 76 

The  Time-Table 78 

Classification 80 

Forming  Classes 8i 

Assigning  Lessons 82 

Graded  Schools 82 

CHAPTER  V. 

MANAGEMENT. 84 

The  First  Lesson 84 

Number  of  Studies 91 

Three  Studies  Enough 92 

Thoroughness  Necessary 93 


CONTENTS.  7 

PAGB 

Highest  Results  Required 95 

Study 9^ 

The  Object  of  Study 97 

Utility  of  Knowledge 98 

Study  Useful  for  Discipline 99 

Studying  a  Lesson 102 

Uses  of  Recitation 104 

On  Conducting  Recitations 105 

Forcible  Illustrations 107 

CHAPTER    VI. 

METHODS  OR  INSTRUCTION. 109 

National  Peculiarities 109 

Foreigners  and  English  Articulation iii 

METHODS  OF  TEACHING  THE  ALPHABET 113 

THE-  J-ETTER  METHOD— Teaching  from  a  Book— Teach- 
ing  from  Charts — ^Teaching  from  Blocks — Teaching  on 

Slates  and  Blackboard ; 113 

THE  WORD  METHOD— Teaching  from  Blackboard— Teach- 
ing from  Charts — Teaching  from  Books 121 

Slates  for  Children 126 

ORTHOGRAPHY 127 

Spelling  from  Sight 127 

Spelling  from  Perception — From  Dictation 129 

General  ExERasES  in  Spelling 132 

Pronunciation  and  Articulation 134 

The  Vocal  Organs 139 

The  Organs  of  Articulation — Labials — Labio-dentals 

— Lingua-dentals — Lingua-gutturals , 140 

TABLE  OF   ELEMENTS— Vowels— Subvocals— Aspirates...  141 
Cognates 142 


o  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

PACK 

METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued) 145 

READING.... 145 

Beginning  to  Read 146 

The  First  Reading  Lesson 148 

Correcting  Faulty  Styles 150 

Reading  too  Much 151 

The  Second  Stage 152 

Rules —  Pitch —  Force  — Articulation  — Accent —  Emphasis 
— Inflection — Rising  Inflection — Falling  Inflection — Cir- 
cumflex  -. 155 

General  Observations 164 

DECLAMATION— Selecting    [Pieces— Preparation— Rehears- 

ing 167 

COMPOSITION 170 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued) 171 

ARITHMETIC 171 

Notation  and  Numeration , 172 

Addition 176 

Subtraction 177 

Multiplication 179 

Division. 180 

Denominate  Numbers 181 

Fractions — What  is  a  Fraction? — Numerator  and  De- 
nominator P^Relations  of  the  Numerator  and  Denomi- 
nator to  each  other 183 

Operations  in  Fractions — Reduction  of  Fractions- 
Multiplication  of  Fractions— Division  of  Fractions 187 

Proportion — A  Lesson  in  Proportion 191 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PAGS 

METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued) 201 

GEOGRAPHY— The  Earth's  Surface 202 

Day  and  Night 206 

The  Seasons 209 

Races  of  Men ,.  211 

Maps  and  Books 211 

Map  Drawing 212 


CHAPTER  X. 

METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued) 214 

BOTANY 214 

First  Series  of  Lessons 216 

Second  Series  of  Lessons 219 

Classification 222 

GEOLOGY 227 

Scenographical  Geology 228 

Economical  Geology 231 


CHAPTER  XL 

METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION  {conHnued) 234 

GRAMMAR -. 234 

The  First  Lesson  in  Grammar 237 

Second  Lesson 239 

Third  Lesson 240 

Fourth  Lesson 241 

Fifth  Lesson 242 

Sixth  Lesson 243 

Lessons  on  Verbs 244 

Lessons  on  Nouns 248 


•lO  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PAGB 

METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued) 252 

ANATOMY,  PHYSIOLOGY  AND   HYGIENE 252 

Bones  and  Muscles 254 

NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY 256 

CHEMISTRY 259 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued) 262 

PENMANSHIP— Lessons  on  the  Blackboard— The  First  Series 
of  Lessons — Second  Series — Third  Series — Fourth  Series 

— Fifth  Series — Sixth  Series 262 

DRAWING— First  Series  of  Lessons— Second  Series  of  Les- 
sons— Third  Series  of  Lessons 267 

MUSIC — Pitch  of  Sounds — Length  of  Sounds — Notation  by 

Numerals 271 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION  {continued)  279 

HISTORY— Two  Methods— Classification— Three  Great  Cycles 
— Mediterranean  Civilization — Atlantic  Civilization — Pa- 
cific Civilization — Instruction  in  History  Important 279 

CHAPTER    XV. 

FURNITURE  AND  APPARATUS 292 

Sizes  of  School  Desks 293 

APPARATUS 293 

"  useful  in  teaching  Alphabet 294 

"  "  "         Arithmetic 295 

"  "  "         Geography 297 

GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 300 


CONTENTS.  II 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

PACK 

HIGHER   EDUCATION. 302 

The  Relation  of  Public  Schools  to  Higher  Institutions...  302 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

GOVERNMENT. 311 

Self-Govemment  necessary  in  Public  Schools 311 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

BOOKS,  MANUFACTURE  AND  SALE 318 

A  Change  of  Circumstances  requires  a  Change  of  Books 
— ^Too  many  Books  on  one  Subject — Pernicious  Effects 
of  the  Agency  System 318 


ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 


CHAPTER  I. 
EDUCATION. 

GENERAL   PRINCIPLES. 

SYSTEM  of  education,  to  be  of  prac- 
tical utility,  must  be  so  devised  as  to 
secure  the  harmonious  development 
of  all  the  human  faculties,  physical  and 
spiritual.  The  human  mind  and  body  are  so 
closely  wedded  to  each  other  that  whatever 
affects  the  one  for  good  or  evil  to  a  correspond- 
ing degree  affects  the  other.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  provide  an  elaborate  system  of  physical 
training  for  people  so  active  and  stirring  as  are 
those  who  inhabit  the  United  States,  but  it  is 
essential  that  a  system  of  intellectual  and  moral 
training  shall  be  so  constructed  and  applied  as 
not  to  obstruct  the  natural  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  physical  powers.     The  spirit  must 

2  13 


14  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

rule  over  the  body,  but  that  rule  must  not  be 
oppressive.  The  body  must  be  held  in  natural 
subjection  to  the  spirit,  but  if  by  tyranny  and 
oppression  the  spirit  emaciates  and  enfeebles 
the  body,  the  effect  would  be  to  invoke  feeble- 
ness and  insanity  upon  itself.  The  cases  in 
America  where  harm  comes  to  the  body  from  a 
too  close  application  to  study  are  exceedingly 
rare.  The  tyranny  of  fashion  in  dress,  the  late 
hours  and  demoralizing  influences  of  social 
amusements,  the  pampering  of  the  appetite  and 
the  youthful  dissipation  consequent  upon  social 
usages  in  good  society  work  irreparable  mis- 
chief in  the  young  constitution ;  this  is  very 
generally  charged  as  the  result  of  too  close  ap- 
plication to  study  in  school.  The  charge  is 
false  in  every  sense.  The  demand  for  the  re- 
laxation of  educational  discipline,  if  granted, 
would  enlarge  the  opportunities  for  this  social 
demoralization,  and  increase  the  evil  results  of 
the  pernicious  practices  to  which  the  ill  health 
of  boys  and  girls  is  truly  attributable. 

THE    MIND. 

The  faculties  of  the  mind  are  comprised  in 
three  general  divisions — the  Intellect,  the  Sensi- 
bility and  the  Will;  that  is,  the  knowing  facul- 
ties, the  feeling  faculties  and  the  doing  faculties. 
The  logical   order  is — first,  to   know;  second, 


EDUCATION.  15 

to  feel ;  and  third,  to  act.     Knowledge  precedes 
emotion ;  emotion  precedes  action. 

Natural  Order  of  Development. — First  in  or- 
der, then,  is  the  education  of  the  Intellect.  The 
Intellect  is  developed  by  the  acquisition  of  know- 
ledge. Knowledge  is  first  acquired,  in  youth, 
through  the  Senses.  The  first  efforts  in  edu- 
cating, therefore,  should  be  directed  to  systema- 
tize observation,  and  the  first  subjects  of  study 
are  very  naturally  the  facts  in  the  physical 
sciences.  The  innumerable  and  marvelous  ques- 
tionings in  childhood  have  almost  always  refer- 
ence to  things  seen,  felt  and  heard.  He  who 
attempts  to  teach  a  child  to  reason  betrays  a 
lamentable  ignorance  of  the  order  of  develop- 
ment of  the  mental  powers.  A  child  will  ob- 
serve, and  by  processes  peculiarly  its  own  will 
connect  facts,  and  by  the  operation  of  Judgment 
will  connect  effects  with  causes,  but  to  endeavor 
to  exercise  its  mind  upon  abstractions  would 
be  prejudicial  to  healthful  and  logical  develop- 
ment. From  the  observation  of  things  the  mind 
gradually  rises  to  the  observation  of  certain 
qualities  belonging  to  the  things  observed. 
Thus  Perception  is  developed.  The  association 
of  qualities  with  each  other  or  with  a  given 
object  gives  rise  to  ideas ;  these  ideas  find  ex- 
pression in  words ;  that  is,  the  object  is  first 
observed   with    close    interest    and    attention ; 


j6  art  of  teaching  school, 

secondly,  particular  features  or  properties  of 
the  object  are  observed,  and  these  features  or 
properties  are  united  in  the  mind  as  belonging 
to  one  object.  This  unity  by  which  the  object 
and  its  properties  are  combined  stands  in  the 
mind  as  a  representative  of  the  thing  observed 
as  a  Perception,  and  may  be  recalled  from  the 
storehouse  of  Memory  by  the  operation  of 
Recollection,  though  the  thing  itself  be  absent. 
When  a  new  object  is  presented,  if  it  in  any  re- 
spect resembles  in  form  or  quality  the  subject 
of  a  previous  observation,  the  old  is  instantly 
called  up  and  placed  in  the  mind  by  the  side  of 
the  new,  and  this  gives  rise  to  association  and 
analysis ;  each  is  analyzed  to  see  in  what  re- 
spects it  is  like  and  in  what  it  is  unlike  the 
other. 

Language  is  first  learned  by  observation,  and 
in  every  case  it  is  more  the  result  of  habit  than 
of  analysis.  A  child  imitates  the  language  of 
its  mother;  the  most  persistent  efforts  of  the 
school-teacher  will  not  be  able  to  overthrow  the 
good  or  bad  results  of  the  every-day  practice  of 
the  household  until  the  pupil  shall  have  arrived 
at  that  age,  and  shall  have  attained  that  degree 
of  culture,  which  will  enable  it  to  distinguish  in 
social  life  between  the  correct  and  the  incorrect 
use  of  language. 

Knowledge  that  is  acquired  through  the  Sen- 


EDUCATION.  17 

ses  IS  retained  in  the  Memory,  and  Recollection 
is  the  power  by  which  that  which  lies  in  the 
mind  is  awakened.  Imagination  is  the  power 
by  which  the  mind  holds  up  before  itself  the 
images  which  are  called  up  by  recollection. 
Understanding  is  the  faculty  by  which  the  rela- 
tions of  things  to  each  other  are  determined. 
Reason,  which  is  higher  than  all  of  these,  is  the 
faculty  through  which  the  ultimate  and  universal 
principles  are  ascertained.  Following  this  order, 
which  is  the  order  in  which  these  faculties  are 
developed,  Memory  must  be  exercised  in  con- 
junction with  the  Senses  and  Perception.  It  is 
the  storehouse  into  which  the  Perceptive  facul- 
ties carry  all  the  facts  obtained  through  the 
Senses.  Calling  up  for  inspection  the  things 
which  are  thus  stored  in  the  mind  gives  ex- 
ercise to  the  Memory ;  holding  them  up  to 
view  affords  exercise  to  the  Imagination.  The 
Understanding  takes  up  the  pictures  of  the  Im- 
agination, receives  what  Recollection  has  called 
up  from  the  Memory,  which  has  been  stored  by 
the  operation  of  the  Senses,  and  determines  the 
relations  of  all  the  parts  to  each  other  as  causes 
and  effects.  It  classifies  in  accordance  with  per- 
ceived relations.  It  places  facts  together  as  the 
links  in  a  chain.  It  discovers  that  one  link 
hangs  upon  the  other,  and  that  the  link  which 
stood  as  cause  for  that  below  it  becomes  effect 
2*  B 


1 8  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

for  that  above  it;  thus  it  can  follow  from  the 
lowest  link  to  the  highest,  but  it  can  never  rise 
to  the  ascertaining  of  the  origin  of  the  separate 
links,  or  to  the  comprehension  of  the  power 
which  sustains  the  whole  chain,  which  seems  to 
hang  upon  nothing.  It  is  the  province  of  Reason 
to  take  up  the  work  where  the  operations  of 
Judgment  end,  and  to  carry  the  mind  from  facts 
to  principles,  lifting  it  up  to  the  comprehension 
of  original  causation  which  cannot  stand  in  the 
relation  of  effect  to  any  cause. 

THE    SOURCES    OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

It  will  thus  be  observed  that  there  are  two 
sources  of  knowledge  —  the  Senses  and  the 
Reason.  Man  derives  knowledge  through  the 
Senses  ;  this  is  called  empirical  knowledge — the 
knowledge  of  experience.  This  includes  all 
that  we  know  through  the  Senses — seeing,  hear- 
ing, touching,  tasting,  smelling — and  through 
emotional  experiences.  Knowledge  of  which 
reason  is  the  source  is  called  rational  know- 
ledge ;  ideas  of  space,  of  time,  of  distance,  the 
truths  evolved  by  mathematical  calculations, 
ideas  of  the  absolute  and  the  infinite,  are  at- 
tained through  processes  of  reasoning,  and  can- 
not be  reached  by  experience. 


THE 


t?)<f^g^lTY  V  '9 


OF 


METHODS    OF    ACQUIRING    KNOWLEDGE. 

There  are  two  methods  of  dealing  with  the 
products  of  the  Senses  and  of  the  Reason.  Par- 
ticular phenomena  may  be  taken  up  and  the 
process  be  conducted  so  as  to  find  the  general 
laws,  which  unite  these,  into  a  harmonious  sys- 
tem.    This  is  called  induction. 

Or,  a  general  truth  may  be  presented,  and 
the  process  will  then  be  to  find  the  original  ele- 
ments which  enter  into  its  composition ;  this 
process  is  called  deduction.  All  investigation, 
therefore,  whether  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring 
a  knowledge  of  ascertained  truths  or  for  undis- 
covered truths,  is  either  inductive  or  deductive. 

The  inductive  process  is  synthetic  and  the 
deductive  is  analytic.  By  synthesis  the  parts 
are  constructed  into  a  whole ;  by  analysis  the 
whole  is  separated  into  its  parts.  The  naturalist 
may  observe  many  facts  in  some  department 
of  nature ;  he  may  observe  the  laws  which  gov- 
ern these  facts,  and  he  may  bind  all  of  these 
into  a  system  of  science.  This  he  does  by  the 
process  of  induction,  aided  by  synthesis,  or  he 
may  observe  some  general  effect,  some  phenom- 
enon, which  stands  as  a  result ;  he  seeks  to  dis- 
cover its  origin ;  he  divides  and  subdivides 
until  he  reaches  simple  truths.  This  is  the  pro- 
cess of  deduction,  carried  on  by  analysis. 


20  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 


THE   OPERATION    OF   THE    FACULTIES. 

By  a  series  of  experiments,  one  suggesting 
another,  the  mind  proceeds  in  its  search  for 
truth  by  means  of  observation,  and  these  same 
processes,  carried  on  in  the  higher  operations 
of  scientific  investigation,  had  their  beginning  in 
smaller  and  more  simple  processes  in  the  mind 
of  the  child.  Associated  facts  are  always  at- 
tractive to  children  and  readily  engage  their  at- 
tention, and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  study  is 
most  rapid  where  associated  facts,  systematically 
arranged,  are  presented.  The  mind  thus  rises 
through  all  the  parts  of  a  science,  observing  at 
every  step  the  logical  order  of  combination. 
When  knowledge  comes  in  this  connected  order, 
its  acquisition  gives  strength  to  the  Memory, 
because  the  truths  that  are  learned  are  so  stored 
away  in  the  mind  that  the  presentation  of  one 
induces  the  recollection  of  another,  and  thus  in- 
numerable incidents  in  the  range  of  observation 
call  up  long  trains  of  thought.  This  brings  in 
review  before  the  mind,  frequently,  in  moments 
of  leisure  and  in  the  hour  of  play,  the  knowledge 
that  was  acquired  through  much  toil  and  effort. 
Hence  it  is  that  knowledge  gained  through 
logical  methods  becomes  food  for  all  the  facul- 
ties of  the  mind,  affording  them  exercise  and 
recreation,  the  free  indulpence  in  which  induces 


EDUCATION.  21 

culture.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  without 
the  development  of  the  intellectual  faculties  in 
their  natural  order  and  in  harmonious  propor- 
tion, the  attainment  of  that  higher  and  more 
complete  culture  involving  the  full  growth  of  all 
the  faculties  of  the  mind,  which  gives  power  and 
efficiency,  cannot  be  attained. 

THE     IMPORTANCE    OF    METHODICAL    DEVELOPMENT 
OF   THE    INTELLECT. 

The  intellect  must  be  developed  methodically 
and  the  faculties  must  grow  harmoniously.  This 
development  and  this  growth  can  be  attained 
only  by  the  proper  exercise  in  their  natural  or- 
der of  the  knowing  faculties  of  the  mind.  An- 
tecedent to  all  methodical  education  there  must 
be  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  a  desire  to  know. 
There  must  be  a  mental  appetite  to  be  gratified 
before  mental  food  can  be  administered  with 
profit.  Precisely  as  the  physical  system  is  cloyed 
and  injured  by  administering  food  when  it  is  not 
wanted — that  is,  when  there  is  no  appetite  de- 
manding it — so  all  efforts  at  cramming  the  mind 
with  mental  pabulum  will  result  in  injury.  The 
mind  is  in  no  sense  a  passive  receptacle,  a  mere 
storehouse,  in  which  may  be  lodged  property 
and  rubbish  as  the  whim  or  the  opportunity  of 
the  doorkeeper  may  permit,  neither  is  it  a  blank 
tablet  upon  which  any  reckless  scribbler  may 


22  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

erasibly  write.  It  is  in  itself  an  activity,  a  power, 
a  being  with  susceptibilities ;  what  it  receives  it 
has  the  power  to  retain  or  to  reject,  to  store 
away  for  use  or  to  cast  forth  as  worthless.  Its 
capacities  are  increased  by  the  exercise  arising 
from  active  use,  or  they  are  contracted  by  hab- 
its of  idleness.  A  desire  to  know  is  the  appe- 
tite for  mental  food,  and  as  the  body  puts  forth 
efforts  to  obtain  aliment  for  its  own  life,  so  the 
mind,  impelled  by  the  sense  of  hunger  and  thirst 
for  knowledge,  goes  out  in  search  of  it,  and 
everywhere  nature  displays  rich  fields  laden  with 
abundant  harvests,  inviting  all  the  activities  of 
the  mind  to  go  forth,  reap,  garner  and  enjoy. 

A  system  of  education  should  have  for  its 
object  the  guidance  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind 
in  their  efforts  to  reap  in  the  harvest-fields  of 
nature,  so  that  they  may  first  gather  that  which 
is  first  required,  that  they  may  store  away  that 
which  is  of  most  use,  to  the  end  that  the  mind 
may  be  strengthened  by  labor,  that  the  act  of 
receiving  may  increase  the  capacity  to  receive, 
and  that  what  requires  greater  strength  and 
longer  continued  efforts  to  overcome  and  pos- 
sess, may  be  left  to  be  gathered  at  that  period 
of  life,  when  the  requisite  strength  and  power 
of  endurance  shall  have  been  gained,  through  a 
judicious  system  of  exercise. 

A  child  employs  its  sense  of  hearing  before  its 


EDUCATION.  23 

sense  of  seeing,  and  both  of  these  senses  are 
used  before  it  acquires  the  art  of  articulate 
speech ;  it  uses  its  hands  and  arms  in  playing 
with  its  toys  before  it  can  use  its  feet  and  legs 
to  walk  for  them.  It  would  be  extreme  folly  to 
insist  that  an  infant  shall  not  play  with  its  rattle 
until  it  is  able  to  walk  to  the  table  and  get  it, 
or  that  it  should  not  be  allowed  the  light  of  day, 
or  to  be  guided  by  the  sense  of  hearing,  until 
the  organs  of  speech  are  developed.  It  is 
equally  illogical  to  attempt  to  cultivate  the 
Reason  and  Understanding  at  that  period  when 
only  the  Senses  are  active,  or  to  persist  in 
efforts  to  store  the  Memory  with  abstractions, 
which  cannot  be  understood,  and  to  refuse  to 
give  exercise  to  the  Senses  in  acquiring  know- 
ledge by  observation  until  it  can  be  acquired 
equally  well  through  the  operation  of  Reason. 
The  system  of  education  herewith  presented  is 
constructed  upon  this  theory.  It  is  a  natural 
system  because  it  provides  for  the  development 
of  the  faculties  in  their  natural  order. 

CONDITIONS    FOR   THE    PROCESS    OF   EDUCATING. 

Teaching  presupposes  three  conditions  :  first, 
a  degree  of  knowledge  and  capacity  on  the  part 
of  the  pupil ;  second,  a  degree  of  knowledge  and 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher ;  and  third,  know- 
ledge to    be   acquired.      When  a  child    enters 


24  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

school — and  that  is  the  period  at  which  the  sys- 
tem of  education  which  is  now  under  contem- 
plation is  designed  to  take  effect — he  possesses  a 
certain  amount  of  knowledge  which  has  usually 
been  acquired  in  an  irregular  way  and  is  rarely 
systematically  arranged  as  parts  of  theories  or 
sciences,  yet  this  knowledge  is  of  great  use  to 
the  pupil,  and  must  be  taken  account  of  in 
efforts  to  lead  the  mind  into  regular  habits  of 
educating  itself. 

NATURAL   PROCESS   TO    BE    ENCOURAGED. 

The  knowledge  possessed  by  the  pupil  has 
been  acquired  by  observation ;  the  first  effort 
of  the  teacher,  therefore,  should  be  to  encourage 
and  systematize  observation.  This  will  bring 
order  to  the  perceptions,  will  utilize  the  stores 
of  the  Memory  and  will  exercise  that  faculty. 
It  will  bring  order  and  strength  to  Recollection ; 
it  will  utilize  Imagination  and  will  exercise  Judg- 
ment. The  nature  of  the  mind  and  its  natural 
order  of  development  make  it  necessary  that, 
in  a  system  of  education,  the  study  of  the  mate- 
rial sciences  should  come  first.  It  is  entirely 
natural  that  a  child  should  recognize  differences 
between  a  rose  and  a  geranium,  between  quartz 
and  mica,  before  it  can  distinguish  between  A 
and  V  or  O  and  Q.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say, 
therefore,  that  for  the  young  pupils,  mere  chil- 


EDUCATION.  25 

dren,  who  are  now  forced  to  worry  and  wonder 
over  what  are  to  them  meaningless  characters, 
or  who  are  required  to  sit  in  idleness  under 
what  seems  to  them  a  bitter  and  unnecessary 
restraint,  a  much  more  profitable  use  would  be 
made  of  school-hours  if  they  were  taught  to  ex- 
ercise their  powers  of  observation  and  memory 
on  the  natural  objects  that  surround  them. 
Few  farmers  are  able  to  name  a  tenth  of  the 
varieties  of  grasses,  herbs  and  shrubs  found  in 
their  fields,  and  an  equal  degree  of  ignorance 
prevails  as  to  the  names  and  qualities  of  rocks 
and  soils.  Under  proper  methods  of  instruction 
such  knowledge  would  be  acquired  by  pupils 
who  enter  school  at  the  age  of  six,  before  the 
end  of  the  second  year  of  public-school  educa- 
tion. In  public  schools  established  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  people  is  a  proper  place  to  begin 
such  a  needed  reform.  Here  is  a  practical  work 
to  undertake,  here  is  popular  ignorance  to  be 
dispelled,  here  are  agreeable,  profitable  and  easy 
lessons  to  be  learned. 

PUBLIC-SCHOOL   EDUCATION. 

Public  schools  are  established  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  millions.  The  education  provided  in 
these  schools  should  be  practical,  the  methods 
should  be  agreeable  and  logical,  and  the  results, 
popular  intelligence.  The  reverse  of  this  is 
3 


26  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

mainly  true  ;  the  education  is  almost  universally 
impractical,  the  methods  are  disagreeable  and 
illogical,  and  the  result,  purchased  at  the  price 
paid  for  intelligence,  is  popular  ignorance.  Ten 
or  fifteen  years  "of  school-life  are  given  over  to 
the  study  of  illogical  books,  the  solution  of  intri- 
cate problems  found  in  school  arithmetics,  to  the 
mastering  of  impractical  methods  and  bungling 
devices,  to  the  memorizing  of  useless  and 
meaningless  rules  in  grammar,  correcting  false 
syntax  and  parsing,  to  learning  the  names  of 
places  noted  for  the  number  of  shoes  made  there 
or  the  quantity  of  cheese  produced  annually. 
This,  coupled  with  the  ability  to  read  indiffer- 
ently and  write  illegibly,  in  many  places  is  all 
that  is  acquired  by  the  majority  of  pupils  in  the 
public  schools.  This  comparative  uselessness 
of  public-school  education  arises,  not  from  want 
of  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  the 
convenience  of  appliances,  skill  in  teaching  or 
diligence  in  prosecuting  studies,  but  in  the  most 
senseless  and  bungling  methods  of  classification 
that  are  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  cur- 
riculum of  studies.  The  facts  of  geology  are 
more  simple,  more  instructive  and  more  useful 
than  the  facts  of  geography.  The  facts  of  anat- 
omy, physiology  and  hygiene  are  more  easily 
grasped  than  the  facts  of  grammar  and  arithmetic, 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  fundamental  rules, 


EDUCATION.  27 

arithmetic  should  take  its  place  behind  geogra- 
phy, history  and  botany.  The  utterly  extrava- 
gant value  attached  to  mathematics  as  a  rneans 
of  disciplining  the  mind  has  led  to  incalculable 
mischief  in  times  past,  and  has  given  to  the  world 
a  generation  of  men  absolutely  ignorant  of  the 
plainest  and  most  useful  facts  of  science.  This 
false  estimate  of  the  utility  of  one  branch  of 
learning  over  every  other  is  felt  from  the  lowest 
primary  schools  through  all  grades  up  to  the  uni- 
versities. In  the  higher  institutions  mathemat- 
ics is  harnessed  with  the  classics,  making  a  double 
team  which  annually  delivers  for  graduation 
hundreds  of  young  men  whose  hearts  are  full 
of  vanity  and  whose  heads  are  full  of  ignorance. 
These  are  the  "educated  men"  who  give  to  soci- 
ety the  numerous  deplorable  failures  that  long 
since  brought " education  "  into  disrepute.  These 
men,  graduating  from  the  best  colleges,  ignorant 
of  political  history'  and  of  geography,  ignorant 
of  natural  history,  ignorant  of  ever)'  modern 
language,  unfortunately  ignorant  of  all  useful 
learning  except  what  is  useful  only  for  discipline, 
and,  worse  than  all,  "deplorably  ignorant  of  their 
own  ignorance," — these  "educated  men,"  until 
within  a  very  few  years  past,  failing  in  every  other 
pursuit  in  life,  were  teachers  in  public  schools* 
They  compressed  the  schools  into  their  own  nar- 
rowness, engrafted  upon  them  their  own  barren 


28  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

methods,  and  made  them  failures  like  unto  them- 
selves— failures  in  this,  that  they  consumed 
the  school-years  of  the  youth  in  forcing  upon 
them  instruction  that  is  disagreeable  and  use- 
less, and  in  withholding  from  them  knowledge 
that  would  have  been  attractive,  useful  and  en- 
nobling. 

*' Mental  arithmetic"  and  "higher  arithmetic" 
should  be  excluded  from  the  public  schools. 
They  are  not  sciences  in  any  sense,  but  mere 
inventions  brought  forth  by  over-zealous  mathe- 
maticians. Grammar  might  with  some  degree  of 
profit,  perhaps,  be  introduced  into  the  schools 
during  the  last  years  of  the  course,  but  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly doubtful  whether  any  one  in  youth  ever 
acquired,  through  grammar  books,  the  ability 
to  "  speak  and  write  the  English  language  with 
propriety."  Grammar  in  its  true  sense  is  a  sci- 
ence of  Language,  but  a  science  more  intricate 
in  its  processes,  more  complex  in  its  theories  and 
more  difficult  to  comprehend,  than  either  of  the 
physical  sciences  of  which  the  facts  lie  at  our 
feet  on  every  side,  which  stretch  out  above  and 
beneath  us.  Nevertheless,  grammar  is  forced 
upon  the  pupil  at  a  most  tender  age  in  most 
absurd  methods,  and  it  is  held  there  year  after 
year  to  the  total  exclusion  of  the  more  simple, 
useful  and  agreeable  sciences,  such  as  botany, 


EDUCATION.  29 

geology,  geography,  chemistry,  natural  philoso- 
phy and  astronomy. 

The  complicated  inventions  of  men  are  studied 
first,  while  the  simple  and  sublime  creations  of 
God  are  rarely  studied  at  all  in  the  public 
schools.  The  children  are  forced  to  feed  on 
husks  with  swine,  whilst  the  savory  meats  in  the 
Father*s  house  that  strengthen  and  inspire  are 
withheld.  Stones  and  scorpions  are  given  to 
the  children  who  cry  for  bread  and  fish.  In  the 
system  of  education  and  the  methods  of  teach- 
ing set  forth  in  this  work  the  old  system,  so  bar- 
ren of  good  results,  so  fruitful  in  failures,  is  re- 
jected, and  an  artificial  process  is  supplanted 
by  a  natural  and  logical  order.  Those  subjects 
of  study  which  are  most  simple,  interesting  and 
useful  are  introduced  first.  The  more  difficult 
and  unnecessary — as  grammar  and  mathematics 
-^— may  follow  as  time  and  circumstances  may 
permit  them  to  be  taken  up.  In  the  plan  for 
organizing  and  conducting  schools  as  here 
presented,  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  author  to 
lead  teachers,  school-directors  and  the  parents 
of  children  educated  in  public  schools  into  more 
pleasant  and  practical  methods  of  labor.  This 
will  require  no  additional  outlay  of  capital,  will 
not  involve  an  expenditure  of  more  time,  but 
will  rather  impart  a  degree  of  pleasure  and 
profit  to  school-days  hitherto  not  experienced 

3* 


30  •  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

by  those  who  have  preceded  us  as  pupils  and 
teachers. 


PROFESSIONAL   TRAINING    FOR   TEACHERS. 

Against  a  continuation  of  a  pernicious  system 
of  teaching  the  people  at  length  protested.  •  They 
demanded  that  normal  schools  should  be  estab- 
lished for  the  education  of  men  and  women  in  the 
"Art  of  Teaching."     These  institutions,  now  re- 
cognized in  all  parts  of  the  country,  are  annually 
sending  forth  persons  well  qualified    to  teach, 
and  as  the  number  of  these  professional  teachers 
increases,  the   system   of  teaching  will   become 
more  logical,  the  education  will  be  more  effect- 
ual both  in  the  quality  of  knowledge  furnished 
and  in  the  character  of  the  men  and  women 
who  shall  be  reared  under  its  influence.     Orig- 
inally preceding,   but    now  supplementing,  the 
work    of  the    normal    schools,   are    "Teachers' 
Institutes  "  in  counties  and  districts.     These  are 
gatherings  of  the  teachers  of  a  county  or  neigh- 
borhood at  some  convenient  place  for  general 
instruction.     In  these  Institutes  methods  of  in- 
struction are  examined  and  criticised ;  there  is 
an  interchange  of  views  on  the  subject  of  school 
government,  and  in  this  way  teachers  learn  from 
each  other  what  may  be  of  practical  use  to  them 
in  their  labors. 

In  States  where  normal  schools  have  not  yet 


EDUCATION.  31 

been  established,  teachers  should  combine  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  Institutes  during  the 
vacation  period.  Expert  teachers  from  other 
States  may  be  employed,  in  addition  to  the  best 
home  talent,  to  instruct  the  teachers  in  the  art 
of  teaching.  In  these  convocations  the  teachers 
are  organized  into  classes  in  the  several  branches 
taught  in  the  schools  represented  in  the  Institutes, 
and  thus  in  class  drills  they  learn  by  actual  ex- 
perience not  only  new  truths,  but  also  how  to 
impart  the  knowledge  of  them  to  others. 

The  business  of  school  teaching  will  be  es- 
tablished as  one  of  the  learned  professions  only 
by  enforcing  a  system  of  professional  teaching, 
and  with  those  educated  in  the  art  of  teaching 
rests  the  responsibility  of  dignifying  their  voca- 
tion by  the  adoption  of  methods  and  processes, 
worthy  of  the  high  claims  of  professional  dignity. 


CHAPTER  II. 
DISCIPLINE, 


GOVERNING    FORCES. 

|HE  passions  and  appetites  of  the  ani- 
mal stand  lowest  among  all  the  forces 
In  the  human  organism.  These  go 
out  In  Innumerable  cravings,  In  long- 
ings for  gratification.  Judgment  and  Reason 
take  cognizance  of  these  cravings  of  the  flesh, 
contemplating  them  with  reference  to  the  re- 
sults If  they  are  unrestrained.  Prudential  con- 
siderations here  have  weight ;  the  effect  upon 
the  body,  the  effect  upon  the  social  standing, 
the  probability  of  concealment  and  other  sordid 
considerations  may  determine  the  Judgment  and 
Reason  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion.  This  con- 
clusion must,  however,  be  carried  up  to  the 
judgment-seat  of  Conscience.  Here  the  sole 
question  to  be  determined  Is  one  of  absolute 
right.  No  other  considerations  can  enter  into 
the    deliberations    of  this    tribunal.     Here    the 


DISCIPLINE.  33 

Standard  of  absolute  right  is  set  up,  and  what- 
ever is  brought  into  this  court  is  laid  upon  it, 
and  if  it  is  in  harmony  in  every  part  and  partic- 
ular with  this  standard,  it  is  approved,  but  not 
otherwise.  After  Conscience  shall  have  pro- 
nounced the  thing  brought  before  it  to  be  right 
or  wrong,  it  is  passed  up  to  the  Will-power, 
which  is  the  human  executive,  for  enforcement. 
Where  the  Will-power  is  weak,  there  is  anarchy 
among  the  members,  there  is  hesitation,  there 
is  indecision,  there  is  feebleness,  there  is  uncer- 
tainty of  thought,  doubtfulness  in  conclusion  and 
inefficiency  in  action.  If  the  Will-power  \%  strong, 
the  judgments  of  Conscience  will  be  promptly 
and  rigidly  enforced.  Harmony  among  all  the 
departments  or  faculties  of  the  mind  will  secure 
harmony  of  action.  There  will  be  wisdom  to 
devise,  righteousness  to  discriminate  and  power 
to  enforce,  and  thus  the  animai  passions  will  be 
kept  in  due  subjection.  The  man  whose  mind 
is  thus  disciplined,  being  able  to  rule  his  own 
spirit,  is  "greater  than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 
A  system  of  education  must  be  so  framed  as  to 
secure  to  the  pupils,  studying  under  its  provis- 
ions, such  harmonious  and  logical  development 
as  will  afford  data  for  the  guidance  of  Judgment 
and  Reason  in  the  contemplation  of  the  every- 
day life  problems, that  will  be  called  up  for  legis- 
lative action ;   it  must  give  such  clearness  and 

c 


34  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

certainty  of  light  to  the  human  Conscience,  as 
will  enable  it  to  discern  the  right  from  the 
wrong ;  it  must  give  such  power  to  the  Will,  as 
will  enable  it  to  execute  with  precision  and 
promptness  the  judgments  of  Conscience. 
There  must  be  discipline  for  the  body  and  dis- 
cipline for  the  mind.  There  must  be  intel- 
lectual culture  and  there  must  be  moral  cul- 
ture, and  all  of  these  should  be  so  directed  and 
applied  as  to  lead  the  pupil  up  to  the  higher, 
to  the  brighter  and  to  the  purer  atmosphere 
of  religious  culture.  In  this  necessity  is  found 
the  occasion  for  a  more  extended  and  minute 
contemplation  of  the  works  of  Nature,  than 
has  hitherto  been  thought  expedient.  The 
study  of  mathematics  will  give  precision  and 
definiteness  to  thought,  the  study  of  language 
and  literature  will  give  that  social  culture  and 
suavity  of  mannei*  that  passes  in  the  world  for 
the  refinement  of  education,  but  the  study  of 
the  material  sciences  and  the  contemplation  of 
the  laws  by  which  all  things  are  governed  leads 
directly  from  Nature  up  to  Nature's  God.  The 
comprehension  of  the  attributes  of  the  Great 
Original  is  the  end  of  all  knowledge,  and  the 
most  direct  road  thither  is  from  the  facts  of  cre- 
ation, displayed  to  our  senses,  upward  through 
the  laws  that  bind  them  together.  These  are 
the  works  of  the  great  Creator,  and  from  the 


DISCIPIINE,  35 

contemplation  of  his  works  it  is  easy  and  natu- 
ral to  rise  to  the  contemplation  of  Him  who  made 
and  ruleth  over  all. 

What  is  here  written  is  for  the  guidance  of 
those,  who  are  immediately  concerned  in  com- 
mon-school education.  The  idea  is  not  to  dis- 
card mathematics,  language  and  literature  as 
educational  forces,  but  to  insist  that  their  place 
is  logically  and  naturally  after  instead  of  before 
the  material  sciences.  The  children  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  must  not  be  compelled  to  waste  their 
school-days  in  the  study  of  mathematics,  gram- 
mar and  literature,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  more 
agreeable  and  more  profitable  studies  in  the 
field  of  Nature.  In  the  chapter  on  higher  edu- 
cation the  scope  and  uses  of  mathematics  and 
the  classics  as  means  of  education  will  be  again 
considered.  The  object  here  is  to  show,  that 
for  purposes  of  discipline  to  the  young  mind, 
the  facts  of  the  material  sciences  are  in  every 
sense  superior  to  those  of  mathematics  and 
language. 

THE    USES   OF    DISCIPLINE. 

The  value  of  discipline  consists  chiefly  in  this, 
that  it  creates  a  desire  for  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  and  directs  the  efforts  by  logical 
methods,  which,  from  the  beginning,  contem- 
plate an  attainable  end.     To  those,  therefore, 


36  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

who  labor  among  the  material  elements  of  na- 
ture, such  as  the  soil,  the  plants,  the  rocks,  the 
waters,  the  winds  and  the  animals,  that  learn- 
ing which  will  best  enable  them  to  observe  the 
characteristics  of  the  things  among  which  they 
toil  will  be  to  them  most  valuable.  It  will  give 
them  both  skill  to  observe  and  wisdom  to  apply. 
Either  for  the  uses  of  art  or  for  the  advance- 
ment of  science,  such  an  education  is  much  more 
reasonable  than  that  which  gives  the  power  to 
solve  intricate  problems  in  mathematics,  or  to 
analyze  and  parse  obscurely-constructed  pas- 
sages in  English  literature. 

THEORY   WITHOUT   PRACTICE. 

Many  fierce  battles  of  controversy  have  been 
fought.  Conservatives,  on  the  one  side,  have 
bitterly  contended  for  what  is  old  and  well  tried. 
Enthusiastic  reformers,  on  the  other  side,  have 
insisted  upon  a  total  overthrow  of  the  college 
curriculum,  the  rejection  of  ancient  languages 
and  literature  from  the  new  catalogue  of  studies 
and  the  substitution  of  the  technical  sciences 
in  their  stead.  Though  singular,  it  is  not  inex- 
plicable, that  both  of  these  contertding  forces  are 
in  error.  The  conservatives,  appealing  to  the 
universal  experience  of  educators,  seem  to  for- 
get "  that  a  teacher's  experience  must  be  mea- 
sured, not  by  the  length  of  time  that  he  has 


DISCIPLINE.  37 

been  engaged  In  his  work,  but  rather  by  the 
amount  of  analytical  ability  and  intellectual  labor 
that  he  has  applied  to  the  materials  which  that 
experience  has  furnished  him."  Opportunities 
for  observation  and  experiment  may  be  great, 
but  the  faculty  of  evolving  truth  and  of  forming 
logical  conclusions  may  be  small.  Most  of  the 
successful  instructors  in  the  higher  institutions 
of  learning  have  derived  their  theories  of  edu- 
cation by  intuition  from  the  college  atmosphere, 
and  these  remain  undigested  and  unchanged, 
their  personal  experience  having  wrought  no 
modification  in  what  was  dogmatically  laid  upon 
them  by  their  predecessors.  It  frequently  hap- 
pens, therefore,  that  the  continuance  of  the  old 
curriculum  is  insisted  upon  simply  because 
neither  observation  nor  experience  has  sug- 
gested to  the  minds  of  those  persistent  con- 
servatives the  necessity  for  any  departure  from 
it.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  insist  upon 
so  radical  a  change  as  the  exclusion  of  the 
classics  from  the  college  course  are  so  hedged 
in  with  the  idea  of  utility,  that  they  reject  every- 
thing that  is  not  in  accordance  with  their  own 
notion  of  immediate  practical  use.  Thus  it  hap- 
pens that  "  the  history  of  education  is  both  the 
battle-field  and  burying-ground  of  impracticable 
theories."  * 

*  Sidgwick. 


38  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 


NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL   SYSTEMS. 

All  methods  of  education  may  be  reduced  to 
two  general  systems,  the  natural  and  the  arti- 
ficial. By  natural  education  is  meant  that  which 
teaches  pupils  those  things  in  which  they  are 
likely  to  be  interested  in  after-life.  It  is  not 
proposed  that  education  should  always  be  tech- 
nical, but  in  that  preliminary  training  which  pre- 
cedes professional  preparation  respect  should 
be  had  to  the  probable  condition  of  the  pupil 
through  life,  and  his  education  should  be  shaped 
with  reference  to  that  condition,  and  yet  with  a 
view  to  giving  as  liberal  a  culture  as  is  compat- 
ible with  the  extent  of  the  school  period  he  is 
likely  to  enjoy. 

An  artificial  education  is  one  in  which  pupils 
are  taught  one  thing  that  they  may  ultimately 
know  another.  "  It  teaches  a  boy  the  rudiments 
of  some  learning  or  accomplishments  that  a 
man  will  be  content  to  forget,"  but  by  this  pro- 
cess of  learning  in  order  to  forget  he  is  prepared 
to  grapple  with  the  practical  problems  of  life 
with  some  certainty  of  mastering  them.  It  is 
claimed  by  the  advocates  of  the  artificial  system, 
that  it  is  the  only  safe  course  to  ensure  that  dis- 
cipline and  culture,  which  everywhere  distin- 
guishes the  educated  gentleman  from  the  mere 
superficial   pretender.     They  assume  that  this 


DISCIPLINE.  39 

training  and  discipline  is  unattainable  through 
any  method  whereby  useful  knowledge  is  directly 
acquired.  Herein  consists  their  fundamental 
error.  It  is  now  admitted  by  many  of  the 
ablest  schoolmen  and  the  wisest  philosophers, 
that  the  teaching  of  useful  knowledge  affords 
as  valuable  a  training  to  the  mind  as  it  is  possi- 
ble to  attain  by  any  system  of  instruction. 

Study  for  the  purposes  of  discipline  only  is 
study  from  pure  love  for  learning.  This  indeed 
is  a  noble  impulse  that  should  be  encouraged 
wherever  it  is  found,  but  a  system  of  education, 
that  puts  forward  such  learning  as  that  best 
adapted  to  the  millions  of  people,  who  compose 
the  population  of  any  country,  is  radically  defect- 
ive. In  a  curriculum  for  general  education, 
framed  for  the  use  of  the  people,  those  branches 
of  learning  that  are  studied  from  pure  curiosity 
or  from  the  love  of  research  are  precisely  those 
that  should  be  excluded.  They  may  with  pro- 
priety find  a  pla€ie  in  those  higher  institutions 
of  learning,  wherein  are  found  young  men  and 
women  with  means  and  leisure  at  their  com- 
mand to  pursue  literary  and  scientific  investiga- 
tion for  the  good  of  mankind,  or  as  a  source  of 
gratification  to  themselves.  Literary  and  private 
institutions  may  very  properly  adopt  the  arti- 
ficial method  of  education,  but  those  who  con- 
struct a  system  of  public  schools  for  the  training 


40  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

of  the  youth  of  all  classes,  and  especially  of  the 
active  productive  laboring  classes,  must  hold  to 
the  natural  system. 

THE   SCOPE   OF   PUBLIC-SCHOOL   EDUCATION. 

It  will  not  be  denied  by  men  who  carefully 
survey  the  field,  that  common-school  education 
is  intended  more  as  a  universal  system,  contrived 
to  supply,  at  a  small  cost,  useful  information  to 
the  masses.  It  is  not  intended  to  provide  for 
that  liberal  culture  which  only  a  few  are  ambi- 
tious to  attain  and  still  fewer  succeed  in  acquir- 
ing. The  chief  aim,  therefore,  should  be  the 
development  of  the  faculties  of  external  obser- 
vation. It  is  not  enough  that  pupils  learn 
merely  to  see  things  as  they  are.  The  memory 
must  be  taught  to  record  accurately,  and  the 
imagination  to  represent  faithfully,  the  facts  ob- 
served. The  materials  on  which  the  intellect 
ordinarily  acts,  even  when  thinking  apart  from 
observing,  are  ideas  of  the  external,  world. 
There  is  food  in  the  elements  of  the  material 
sciences  both  for  the  imaginative  and  conceptive 
faculties,  and  the  training  which  is  furnished  in 
the  act  of  classifying  the  things  observed,  is  pre- 
cisely the  education  that  will  be  useful  in  the 
business  of  life.  The  student  is  required  not 
merely  to  apply  the  classification  made  to  order, 
but   he  is   frequently  required  to  construct  a 


DISCIPLINE.  41 

classification  for  immediate  use.  Neither  the 
study  of  mathematics  nor  of  literature  cultivates 
habits  of  reasoning  from  effects  to  causes  and 
from  causes  to  effects. 

Life  is  a  series  of  unfinished  systems.  At 
every  period  something  is  present  and  some- 
thing is  absent.  This  is  precisely  the  case  in 
physics.  The  study  of  them,  therefore,  is  the 
most  natural  and  efficacious  way  of  teaching 
how  to  correctly  infer  and  combine  absent  phe- 
nomena with  present  phenomena  in  the  percep- 
tions. In  reference  to  the  study  of  physical 
science,  Cuvier  very  justly  observes,  "Every 
transaction  which  supposes  a  classification  of 
facts,  every  research  which  requires  a  distribu- 
tion of  matter,  is  performed  after  the  same  man- 
ner, and  he  who  has  cultivated  this  science 
merely  for  amusement  is  surprised  at  the  facili- 
ties it  affords  for  disentangling  all  kinds  of 
affairs."  A  system  of  education  should  afford 
proper  discipline  to  the  mind  and  at  the  same 
time  stimulate  it  to  active  exercise,  and  in  this 
respect  the  study  of  the  sciences  has  the  ad- 
vantage over  all  other  branches  of  learning  for 
young  pupils.  The  books  which  they  open  to 
the  student  will  never  be  shut  up  and  put  away. 
The  external  world,  directly  and  indirectly,  daily 
forces  itself  upon  the  observation,  and  it  will  be 
of  continual  advantage  to  be  able  to  comprehend 

4« 


S^  ART  OF  TEACBING  SCHOOL, 

and  classify  the  observations  thus  passing  before 
us.  The  superiority  of  the  material  sciences  as 
subjects  for  school  studies  is  also  felt  in  this: 
they  teach  the  pupil  what  in  all  periods  of  life 
he  is  most  glad  to  know. 

THE   IMPORTANCE   OF  THE   PHYSICAL  SCIENCES. 

An  eminent  scholar  of  England  who  very 
forcibly  reviews  the  relative  value  of  studies 
says:  "Physical  science  is  now  so  bound  up 
with  all  the  interests  of  mankind,  from  the  low- 
est and  most  material  to  the  loftiest  and  most 
profound,  it  is  so  engrossing  in  its  infinite  de- 
tail, so  exciting  in  its  progress  and  promise,  so 
fascinating  in  the  varied  beauty  of  its  revela- 
tions,— that  it  draws  to  itself  an  ever-increasing 
\  amount  of  intellectual  energy,  so  that  the  intel- 
lectual man  who  has  been  trained  without  it 
must  feel  at  every  turn  his  inability  to  compre- 
hend thoroughly  the  present  phase  of  the  prog- 
ress of  humanity,  and  his  limited  sympathy  with 
the  thoughts  and  feelings,  labors  and  aspirations, 
of  his  fellow-men.  And  if  there  be  any  who  be- 
lieve that  the  summit  of  a  liberal  education,  the 
crown  of  the  highest  culture,  is  philosophy — 
meaning  by  philosophy  the  sustained  effort,  if  it 
be  no  more  than  an  effort,  to  frame  a  complete 
arid  reasoned  synthesis  of  the  facts  of  the  uni- 
verse— on  them  it  may  be  especially  urged  how 


DISCIPLINE.  43 

poorly  equipped  a  man  comes  to  such  a  study, 
however  competent  he  may  be  to  interpret  the 
thoughts  of  ancient  thinkers,  if  he  has  not  quah- 
fied  himself  to  examine,  comprehensively  and 
closely,  the  wonderful  scale  of  methods  by  which 
the  human  mind  has  achieved  its  various  degrees 
of  conquest  over  the  world  of  Sense/' 

Noah  Porter,  President  of  Yale  College,  says  : 
"  Botany  and  mineralogy,  with  the  elements  of 
geology,  especially  botany,  are  branches  which 
can  be  acquired  in  early  life,  which  is  the  observ- 
ing period,  provided  an  exciting  interest  can  be 
aroused  in  their  objects.  We  cannot  estimate 
too  highly  the  habits  which  are  induced  by  these 
studies,  or  the  tastes  which  they  awaken  and 
refine.  The  nice  eye  for  analysis,  the  attentive 
eye  for  research,  the  enterprise  and  self-reliance 
required  for  open-air  excursions,  the  elevating 
influences  that  come  from  a  contact  with  the  pur- 
ity and  beauty  of  nature,  and  the  habits  of  ready 
tact  and  rapid  induction  which  such  studies  and 
researches  involve, — are  all  Invaluable  features 
of  the  character,  and  leave  priceless  treasures  for 
life.  No  one  can  appreciate  more  highly  than 
we  the  tastes  and  aptitudes  of  the  enthusiastic 
naturalist,  whether  seen  in  their  blossom  in  the 
youthful  votary  or  in  their  ripeness  in  the  ma- 
tured philosopher.  We  would  therefore  insist 
that  those  sciences  should  be  studied  thoroughly 


44  ART  OF  TEACfflNG  SCHOOL. 

in  the  preparatory  education,  so  far  as  they  are 
mainly  sciences  of  observation  and  of  fact.'* 

Discoursing  upon  the  practical  uses  of  study, 
the  same  high  authority  says,  "  The  pure  mathe- 
matics, both  elementary  and  advanced,  are  the 
least  directly  practical  of  any  sciences,  and  it  is 
only  because  of  their  necessity  as  the  founda- 
tion of  the  applied  sciences  and  arts  that  they 
are  so  readily  admitted  into  the  circle  of  practi- 
cal and  useful  knowledge." 

For  purposes  of  discipline,  therefore,  within 
the  sphere  of  public-school  education,  the  con- 
clusion that  the  study  of  the  material  sciences 
stands  pre-eminent  will  not  be  seriously  con- 
troverted. 


CHAPTER  Ilir 

SCHOOL    AUTHORITIES. 

N  each  of  the  States  there  is  a  school 
department  possessing  some  form  of 
organization,  charged  with  the  per- 
formance of  specific  duties  and  limited 
to  the  exercise  of  definite  powers.  This  de- 
partment usually  is  charged  with  a  general 
supervision  over  the  educational  affairs  of  the 
State.  It  collects  statistics,  publishes  reports, 
and  in  a  general  way  is  a  means  of  communica- 
tion between  the  Legislature  and  the  people. 


LOCAL   AUTHORITIES. 

Every  State  is  subdivided  into  school  dis- 
tricts of  greater  or  less  dimensions ;  within 
these  districts  are  local  authorities,  which  may 
be  designated  by  the  general  name  of  "  School 
Boards."  To  these  local  authorities  is  intrusted 
by  the  people  the  business  of  establishing,  sup- 
porting and  conducting  schools.  This  involves 
the    raising    of    revenues,    the    erecting    of 

45 


46  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

school- buildings,  the  fixing  of  the  school-term, 
its  duration  and  time  for  opening  and  closing, 
the  construction  of  a  course  of  study,  the  fixing 
the  amount  of  salary  to  be  paid,  the  employ- 
ment of  teachers,  the  care  of  school  property, 
the  inspection  of  the  schools,  and  generally  the 
doing  of  whatever  is  necessary  for  the  estab- 
lishing and  maintaining  of  schools  for  the  proper 
education  of  the  children  within  their  jurisdic- 
tion. These  local  officers  are  usually  elected 
by  the  people,  and  are  therefore  immediately 
accountable  to  them  for  the  faithful  discharge 
of  their  duties.  In  most  States  the  manner  in 
which  money  shall  be  raised  for  the  support  of 
schools,  as  well  as  the  minimum  length  of  the 
school  term,  is  fixed  by  law. 

DUTIES   OF   LOCAL   AUTHORITIES. 

The  duties  of  the  local  authorities  will  be 
treated  under  the  following  general  subdivisions 
— first,  as  applicable  to  rural  districts : 

I  St.  Schoolhouses — buildings,  furniture  and 
grounds. 

2d.  School-term. 

3d.  Course  of  study. 

4th.  The  adoption  of  books. 

5th.  Salary  of  teachers. 

6th.  Employment  of  teachers. 

7th.  Supervision. 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES,  47 

SCHOOLHOUSES. 

The  first  duty  of  the  local  authorities  in  every 
district  is  to  see  that  every  neighborhood  is  pro- 
vided with  a  convenient  schoolhouse.  It  too 
frequently  happens  that  a  site  for  a  schoolhouse 
is  chosen  solely  with  reference  to  its  cheapness. 
In  rural  districts  a  building  is  erected  by  the 
roadside  in  a  low,  wet,  unshaded  spot,  fre- 
quently upon  a  piece  of  ground  that  is  utterly 
useless  for  any  other  purpose,  and  ought  also 
to  be  considered  wholly  unfit  for  the  purpose  to 
which  it  is  applied.  In  the  first  place,  the  site 
should  be  central  in  the  neighborhood  which  it 
is  intended  to  accommodate,  it  should  be  easily 
accessible,  and  it  should  be  on  elevated  and 
well-drained  grounds.  After  an  eligible  site 
has  been  selected,  sufficient  ground  should  be 
purchased  to  admit  of  a  convenient  playground 
extending  on  every  side  of  the  building.  If 
this  can  be  found  in  a  grove  of  old  trees,  it  will 
be  the  more  desirable. 

The  building  should  be  erected  upon  an  im- 
proved plan  of  school  architecture,  and  with  sole 
reference  to  the  uses  to  which  it  is  to  be  put. 
A  house  for  the  accommodation  of  a  mixed 
school  in  a  rural  district  should  be  provided 
with  a  spacious  vestibule  and  separate  dressing- 
rooms  for  the  girls  and   boys,  with  closets  in 


48  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

which  to  store  away  the  dinner-baskets,  and 
hooks  upon  which  to  hang  the  outer  garments 
worn  by  the  children.  The  building  should  be 
sufficiently  elevated  from  the  ground  to  ensure 
dryness,  and  should  be  provided  with  the  most 
approved  contrivances  for  ventilating ;  the  heat- 
ing apparatus  should  be  constructed  with  refer- 
ence to  efficiency  both  in  warming  and  ventilat- 
ing the  study- rooms. 

FURNITURE. 

The  furniture  of  the  schoolhouse  should  be 
of  the  most  approved  and  convenient  pattern. 
The  desks  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  enable 
all  pupils  to  pass  to  and  from  their  seats  with- 
out disturbing  each  other  and  without  creating 
confusion  in  any  part  of  the  room. 

Every  school  should  be  provided  with  a  library 
of  reference-books.  These  should  be  the  prop- 
erty of  the  district,  and  be  accessible  to  all  the 
pupils.  The  most  comprehensive  English  dic- 
tionary, a  geographical  gazetteer,  a  biographical 
dictionary,  a  popular  encyclopaedia,  sets  of  his- 
torical and  physiological  charts  and  outline  maps 
should  be  considered  indispensable  articles  in 
the  furnishing  of  every  school-house. 

The  teacher's  desk  should  be  so  constructed 
as  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  uses  for  which  it  is 
intended.     A  plain  business   office  desk,  with 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  49 

drawers,  shelves,  closets  and  book-rack,  is  per- 
haps the  most  convenient  form.  School-officers 
should  not  set  their  teachers  down  to  tables 
without  drawer,  shelf  or  lock,  and  expect  them 
to  keep  accurate  records  of  the  transactions  in 
school.  All  the  movable  property  in  and  about 
the  schoolroom  should  be  intrusted  to  the 
care  of  the  treasurer  of  the  school-board,  who 
should  be  held  responsible  for  its  safe-keeping. 

THE  GROUNDS. 

The  grounds  about  a  schoolhouse  should  be 
thoroughly  drained,  so  as  to  ensure  dryness  in 
all  seasons.  They  should  be  leveled  and  sod- 
ded, and,  if  not  already  supplied,  should  be 
planted  with  trees  for  shade  and  with  hardy 
shrubs  for  ornament.  A  house  for  fuel  and 
separate  closets  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
pupils  of  both  sexes  should  be  provided,  and 
the  teacher  should  be  instructed  to  see  that 
these  are  always  kept  clean.  Upon  the  grounds 
of  every  schoolhouse  there  should  be  a  supply 
of  water.  This  will  add  to  the  cleanliness  and 
to  the  health  of  all  who  may  attend  the  school. 
And,  finally,  a  neat  fence  should  enclose  the 
whole,  and  this  by  annual  repair  and  frequent 
painting  should  be  maintained  in  good  condition. 
A  shabby  schoolhouse  is  a  disgrace  to  any 
neighborhood. 


50  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 


CITY   SCHOOLHOUSES. 

The  directions  given  above  with  reference 
to  schoolhouses,  school-furniture  and  school- 
grounds  are  intended  for  rural  districts.  In 
cities  and  large  towns,  where  schools  are  graded, 
there  is  opportunity  for  the  erection  of  school- 
buildings  that  for  convenience  and  ornament 
would  not  be  excelled  by  the  architectural 
achievements  in  any  other  department  of  public 
or  private  enterprise.  Near  the  centre  of  the 
school-district  in  cities  a  lot  of  suitable  size 
should  be  obtained,  and  a  master-architect 
should  be  employed  to  design  a  building  after 
the  best  models  of  school-architecture.  Sole 
reference  should  be  had  to  the  number  of  classes 
that  are  to  be  taught  in  the  school,  the  number 
of  teachers  that  are  to  be  employed  and  the  ex- 
tent of  the  course  of  studies  that  is  to  be  pur- 
sued. A  community  can  rarely  find  a  place 
where  the  expenditure  of  money  for  public  uses 
can  be  more  profitably  made  than  in  providing 
first-class  school-buildings.  The  very  first  requi- 
site is  an  abundance  of  space;  the  next,  conve- 
nience of  arrangement,  and,  perhaps  more  im- 
portant than  all,  the  certainty  of  strength  in 
every  part  of  the  building,  with  ample  facilities 
of  ingress  and  egress  to  every  department.  In 
some  of  the  large  cities  the  school  authorities, 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES,  51 

for  some  inexplicable  reason,  have  erected  their 
school-buildings  on  narrow  streets  or  on  filthy 
alleys.  There  can  be  no  stronger  evidence  of 
the  lack  of  wisdom  on  the  part  of  these  authori- 
ties than  the  selection  of  such  improper  places 
as  sites  for  schoolhouses.  In  other  cities  lots 
facing  open  squares  and  the  widest  and  most 
airy  streets  are  selected  for  school  purposes, 
and  this  is  evidence  of  a  proper  appreciation  on 
the  part  of  the  local  authorities  of  what  is  best 
for  the  community.  A  city  high  school  should 
be  supplied  with  all  of  the  most  approved  appa- 
ratus that  can  be  of  use  to  illustrate  and  enforce 
the  facts  and  principles  of  the  branches  taught 
in  the  school.  The  furniture  should  be  of  the 
most  approved  kind,  and  everything  within  and 
about  the  school-building,  the  furniture  and 
the  apartments  should  be  surrounded  with  an  air 
of  neatness  and  order  that  will  at  once  attract 
attention  and  engender  agreeable  emotions. 

SCHOOL-TERM. 

The  length  of  the  school-term,  wherever  it  is 
fixed  by  law,  is  usually  adapted  to  the  average 
ability  of  the  several  districts  in  the  State  to  in- 
cur the  expenses  of  supporting  schools.  The 
right  to  extend  the  term  beyond  the  minimum 
fixed  by  law  is  usually  left  to  the  local  school 
authorities.    Schools  should  be  kept  open  every- 


S2  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

where  during  at  least  six  months  in  the  year, 
and  wherever  it  is  practicable  the  term  should 
be  extended  to  nine  months.  In  rural  districts, 
during-  the  season  of  inclement  weather,  it  is  un- 
safe for  the  younger  pupils  to  go  any  distance 
to  school,  and  during  the  busy  season  of  the 
summer  months  the  larger  boys  cannot  con- 
veniently be  spared  from  the  labors  of  the  farm 
or  the  workshop.  Where  the  school  is  opened 
at  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  September  and 
closed  in  March  or  April,  the  younger  children 
will  be  the  first  to  present' themselves  for  in- 
struction. During  the  winter  months  their 
places  will  be  occupied  by  their  older  brothers 
and  sisters.  This  will  especially  be  the  case  in 
rural  districts  in  northern  latitudes.  Though 
the  disarrangement  of  classes  that  will  arise  may 
not  be  agreeable  to  the  teacher,  it  is  less  objec- 
tionable than  to  have  two  short  terms,  one  in 
the  winter  and  one  in  the  summer. 

Inasmuch  as  the  common-school  education  Is 
the  only  education  obtained  by  a  very  large 
proportion  of  all  the  children  in  the  United 
States,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
school  authorities  provide  for  the  longest  annual, 
term  that  the  financial  condition  of  the  district 
will  admit  of.  As  the  people  of  a  State  become 
more  prosperous  and  wealthy,  the  Legislature 
should   increase   the   minimum   length   of   the 


V 


OF 


SCHOOL  AUTHORPTiES.  53 

school-term,  so  as  to  encourage  the  Inhabitants 
of  all  parts  of  the  State  in  educational  progress. 

COURSE    OF    STUDY. 

The  course  of  studies  pursued  in  each  school 
should  not  be  left  to  the  whim  of  the  pupils  or 
to  the  option  of  the  teacher.  Everywhere 
the  school  authorities  should  determine  what 
branches  of  learning  shall  be  taught  in  the 
schools  within  their  jurisdiction.  The  men,  who 
are  chosen  by  the  people  to  conduct  educational 
affairs  in  the  district,  are  usually  the  most  com- 
petent judges  of  what  sort  of  knowledge  will  be 
of  most  use  to  the  children  that  will  attend  the 
schools.  Many  branches  are  common,  and 
should  be  taught  everywhere.  Others  are  more 
technical,  and  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  uses 
of  people  engaged  in  special  pursuits.  For  pur- 
poses of  discipline,  the  general  principles  of 
mineralogy  and  mining  engineering,  the  prin- 
ciples of  mechanics  and  manufacturing  engineer- 
ing, are  equal,  whereas,  for  practical  utility,  the 
former  would  be  eminently  proper  in  a  mining 
region,  and  the  latter  in  a  manufacturing  com- 
munity. So  with  regard  to  the  principles  of 
navigation  and  agriculture.  The  former  would 
be  proper  in  schools  for  the  education  of  the 
children  of  a  seaboard  community,  and  the  latter 
for  the  agricultural  districts  throughout  the  land. 


5* 


54  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

Text-books  on  all  of  these  and  kindred  subjects 
have  been  prepared,  and  the  school  authorities 
should  make  provision  for  instruction  in  those 
special  branches  that  are  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  the  community. 

As  common-school  education  is  necessarily- 
limited  in  its  extent,  it  is  important  that  the 
time  of  the  pupil  and  the  effort  of  the  teacher 
be  not  expended  in  endeavoring  to  exhaust  two 
or  three  branches  of  learning;  the  course  of 
study  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  afford  practi- 
cal instruction  in  the  primary  elements  of  as 
many  branches  of  learning  as  can  be  success- 
fully taught  in  the  time  and  with  the  appliances 
common  to  our  public  schools.  Thus,  instead 
of  attempting  to  make  expert  mathematicians 
of  all  the  boys  and  girls,  who  attend  public 
schools,  by  cramming  them  with  "  mental  arith- 
metic," "  common-school  arithmetic,"  "  higher 
arithmetic"  and  ''  university  arithmetic,"  it  would 
be  vastly  more  useful,  whether  considered  with 
reference  to  discipline  or  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  or  for  purposes  of  culture,  to  lay 
aside  the  subject  of  mathematics  at  the  end  of 
the  common-school  arithmetic,  and  to  give  the 
additional  time,  which  is  now  generally  wasted 
on  the  so-called  higher  books,  to  the  study  of 
botany,  physiology,  natural  philosophy  and  other 
sciences.     So  also  with  reference  to  grammar. 


SCHOOL   AUTHORITIES.  55 

Instead  of  attempting  to  make  critical  gramma- 
rians, magazine  writers  or  poets  of  the  boys  and 
girls,  it  would  serve  a  much  better  purpose  to 
give  the  whole  time,  that  is  now  usually  misap- 
plied in  the  study  of  grammar,  to  the  study  of 
history,  chemistry  and  geology. 

Be  it  understood  all  teaching  must  be  thor- 
ough, but  thoroughness  and  quantity  are  in  no 
sense  synonymous  terms.  A  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  fundamental  rules  of  arithmetic  is 
acquired  at  a  very  early  period  of  school-life. 
It  is  the  bungling,  useless,  impractical  devices 
constituting  the  bulk  of  the  matter  found  in  the 
mental  and  higher  arithmetics  that  consume 
the  time  of  the  pupil.  More  knowledge,  more 
discipline  and  higher  culture  are  found  in  the 
pursuit  of  other  studies,  and  therefore  the  im- 
portance of  taking  these  up.  A  little  knowledge 
is  not  a  dangerous  thing.  The  smallest  modi- 
cum of  knowledge  is  useful  to  the  possessor  of 
it.  It  is  the  superficial  effort  at  learning  a  great 
deal,  but  which  leaves  in  the  mind  a  definite 
knowledge  of  nothing,  that  Is  popularly  called  a 
"  little  learning,"  and  this  it  is  that  Is  dangerous. 

A  thorough  mastering  of  any  branch  of  learn- 
ing requires  years  of  toll  and  maturity  of  mind. 
Neither  of  these  comports  with  the  scope  of  the 
public  schools.  The  years  of  the  pupil  and  the 
nature  of  the  situation  adniit  only  of  the  teach- 


$6  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

ing  of  the  elements.  It  will  be  far  more  con- 
ducive to  popular  education  to  introduce  more 
branches,  the  elements  of  which  may  be  com- 
prehended by  young  pupils,  than  to  attempt  to 
pursue  to  a  greater  extent  only  a  few  of  the  sub- 
jects now  most  popular  with  teachers.  The 
boards  of  education  in  city  and  country  should, 
therefore,  so  arrange  the  course  of  study  for  the 
schools  under  their  supervision,  as  to  increase 
the  number  of  subjects  by  shortening  the  time 
devoted  to  each. 

ADOPTION    OF   BOOKS. 

The  local  school  authorities  should  adopt  a 
series  of  books  to  be  used  in  the  schools  of 
their  district.  In  order  to  do  this  intelligently 
certain  preliminary  questions  must  be  settled: 
1st.  It  must  be  determined  what  branches  of 
learning  shall  be  taught  in  the  several  schools ; 
2d.  To  what  extent  these  shall  be  taught ;  and 
3d.  The  number  of  reference-l^ooks  to  be  sup- 
plied to  each  school.  Reading,  writing,  arith- 
metic, geography,  grammar,  composition  and 
declamation  are  taught  in  all,  or  nearly  all,  of 
the  schools  in  city  and  country.  To  these 
should  be  added  history,  physiology,  botany, 
natural  philosophy,  chemistry  and  geology.  As 
elsewhere  stated,  it  will  be  necessary  to  restrict 
the  teaching  of  arithmetic,  geography  and  gram- 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  57 

mar  within  reasonable  common-school  limits,  in 
order  to  make  room  for  the  teaching  of  the  material 
sciences.  If  this  restraint  is  not  imposed  by  the 
local  school  authorities,  the  pupils  of  the  schools 
in  the  district  will  be  defrauded  of  much  of  the 
most  agreeable  and  useful  knowledge  naturally 
within  the  scope  of  public-school  education.  To 
enforce  such  limitations  the  school-boards  should 
adopt  but  one  book  on  arithmetic.  This  should 
be  selected  with  reference  to  its  suitability  for 
the  teaching  and  study  of  the  fundamental  rules, 
and  beyond  this  teachers  of  mixed  schools  should 
not  be  allowed  to  carry  their  classes.  The  ad- 
mission of  books  of  mental  arithmetic  and  higher 
arithmetic  will  open  wide  the  door  for  the  in- 
crease of  those  innumerable  absurdities  and  de- 
vices, hitherto  tolerated  on  the  plea  of  discipline, 
but  now  excluded  for  more  useful  branches  of 
learning. 

A  geography  for  public-school  purposes  must 
also  be  comprised  within  the  limits  of  one  con- 
venient book.  Primary,  secondary  and  compre- 
hensive geographies  must  be  rejected,  and  the 
work  of  some  author  who,  with  a  proper  appre- 
ciation of  the  wants  of  the  schools,  has  been 
able  to  compress  the  essential  parts  of  the  sub- 
ject within  proper  limits  for  these  schools,  should 
be  adopted. 

Grammar,  far  beyond  what  it  is  profitable  for 


58  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

the  pupils  in  the  public  schools  to  study,  can  be 
set  forth  in  one  small  volume.  Such  a  book 
should  be  found  and  adopted. 

There  must  also  be  a  limit  fixed  for  the  num- 
ber of  Readers  to  be  used  in  the  public  schools. 
Many  ingeniously  constructed  arguments  have 
been  devised  for  the  purpose  of  proving  the 
utility  of  a  series  of  many  books,  but  no  good 
reason  can  be  given  why  the  number  of  Readers 
should  exceed  three,  the  first  beginning  with  the 
alphabet  and  the  third  ending  with  such  exer- 
cises in  reading"  as  will  be  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  the  most  advanced  classes  in  ungraded  schools. 
For  purposes  of  declamation,  which  in  this  coun- 
try, where  almost  every  man  has  occasion  to  give 
public  expression  to  his  views  on  many  subjects, 
is  a  very  important  branch  of  study,  and  one 
which  should  find  a  place  in  every  school,  a 
"  speaker "  or  book  of  selections  should  be 
added  to  the  series  of  Readers. 

A  system  of  penmanship  and  of  vocal  music 
added  to  the  foregoing  will  constitute  what  has 
hitherto  been  regarded  a  sufficient  course  of 
study  for  the  public  schools.  It  is  now  pro- 
posed, however,  to  occupy  the  time  which  has 
been  saved  by  abridging  the  study  of  arithme- 
tic, geography  and  grammar  in  the  study  of 
physiology,  botany,  natural  philosophy,  chemis- 
try and  geology.     Suitable  text-books  on  all  of 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  59 

these  sciences  have  been  prepared  especially  for 
the  use  of  schools.  There  is  little  danger  that 
school-boards  will  introduce  too  many  branches 
of  learning,  but  there  is  great  danger  that  they 
will  admit  too  many  books  and  permit  the  con- 
sumption of  too  much  time  on  special  subjects. 
After  a  series  of  books,  covering  all  the  sub- 
jects intended  to  be  taught  in  the  school,  shall 
have  been  selected,  let  the  action  of  the  board 
be  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians — ir- 
revocable. There  is  no  part  of  the  administra- 
tion of  the  public-school  system  in  which  there 
is  greater  demand  for  unwavering  firmness,  than 
in  the  adoption  and  maintenance  of  a  series  of 
books  for  each  district.  Publishers  and  pub- 
lishers' agents  will,  by  specious  arguments,  cor- 
ruption, bribery  and  fraud,  labor  in  season  and 
out  of  season  to  persuade  school-boards,  that 
the  books  in  use  in  their  schools  are  inferior, 
and  that  the  books  offered  at  "  adoption  rates," 
*' absurdly  cheap,"  are  in  every  respect  superior. 
Generally,  these  arguments,  if  they  may  be  thus 
dignified,  are  the  merest  fictions ;  by  listening 
to  them  incalculable  mischief  may  result  to  the 
people's  schools.  In  a  score  of  Readers,  an 
equal  number  of  Arithmetics,*  Geographies  and 
Grammars  by  as  many  authors,  there  cannot  be 
found  a  sufficient  difference  of  merit  to  warrant 
a  change  from  one  to  the  other,  even  if  the  pro- 


6o  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

posed  new  books  were  to  be  supplied  gratui- 
tously during  a  year.  The  duty  of  local  school- 
boards  in  this  matter  can  be  summed  up  in  two 
brief  formulas :  first,  adopt  a  good  series  of 
books,  and,  secondly,  refuse  to  make  any  changes 
until  time  and  the  progress  of  science  shall  make 
apparent  the  necessity  for  change.  The  frequent 
change  of  text-books  embarrasses  the  teacher, 
confuses  the  pupils  and  wastes  the  money  of  the 
people.  It  is  a  loss  without  recompense  to  all, 
excepting  only  booksellers  and  bookmakers. 

SALARY. 

The  question  of  salary  is  very  properly  left  to 
the  local  authorities  for  adjustment.  In  different 
localities  different  prices  are  paid  for  labor.  The 
same  laws  that  govern  prices  in  other  professions 
and  vocations  should  obtain  in  paying  teachers. 
Generally,  the  salaries  paid  for  this  important 
service  are  much  below  the  sums  that  like  abil- 
ity commands  in  almost  any  other  position.  In 
many  of  the  large  cities,  where  bricklayers  and 
carpenters  command  from  three  dollars  to  five 
dollars  per  day,  and  where  clerks  and  bookkeep- 
ers of  ordinary  capacity  receive  from  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars  to  twO  thousand  dollars  per  annum, 
school-teachers  who  receive  one  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year  are  thought  to  be  exceedingly  well 
paid ;  in  many  places  where  house-servants  re- 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  6l 

ceive  from  two  dollars  and  a  half  to  three  dol- 
lars a  week,  with  boarding  and  the  comforts  of 
home,  a  lady  teaching  school  and  receiving  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year  for  her  work,  and  paying 
half  of  it  for  boarding,  is  regarded  as  highly 
favored  in  the  way  of  emoluments.  The  fact 
that  more  money  is  commanded  by  a  like  amount 
of  talent  and  skill  in  almost  any  other  vocation 
is  the  chief  cause  of  the  want  of  experienced 
teachers,  everywhere  so  keenly  felt.  The  dis- 
tricts, therefore,  that  are  able  to  pay  fair  salaries 
for  fair  qualifications,  and  thus  secure  the  ser- 
vices during  a  number  of  years  of  a  corps  of 
well-qualified  teachers,  are  exceedingly  fortu- 
nate. If  the  inhabitants  in  any  district  would 
combine  and  provide  dwelling-houses  for  their 
teachers,  and  thus  settle  them  permanently,  pay- 
ing them  reasonable  compensation,  they^ould 
derive  incalculable  benefits  therefrom.  No  time 
need  then  be  lost,  year  after  year,  in  teachers 
and  pupils  learning  to  know  each  other,  and  in 
the  teacher  ascertaining  the  capacity  of  his  pupils 
and  the  wants  of  the  district,  and  this  would 
well  repay  the  taxpayers  for  such  investment. 
Statistics  in  some  of  the  Eastern  States  show, 
that  more  than  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  teachers 
employed  in  the  public  schools  serve  in  that  ca- 
pacity during  a  period  of  less  than  one  year. 
Or,  to  reverse  the  statement,  only  about  twenty 


62  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

per  centum  of  the  teaching  force  of  the  United 
States  brings  to  the  labors  of  the  school-room 
any  professional  experience.  It  need  not  be 
argued  that  this  in  itself  is  one  of  the  most 
serious  obstructions  to  public-school  progress. 
Whatever,  therefore,  can  be  done  to  increase 
the  number  of  experienced  teachers,  will  greatly 
benefit  those  who  attend  the  schools.  One  of 
the  most  powerful  influences  operating  to  draw 
active,  intelligent  and  well-educated  young  men 
and  young  women  from  school-room  work  is 
the  fact,  that  their  time  and  talents  command 
higher  wages  in  other  spheres  of  labor.  The 
local  authorities,  therefore,  should  regard  it  as 
the  very  worst  economy  to  attempt  to  save 
money  by  keeping  down  the  salaries  paid  to 
teachers.  It  may  with  much  more  profit  be 
saved  on  buildings,  grounds,  furniture  and  books, 
but  with  infinitely  more  profit  on  many  other 
things  in  no  way  connected  with  public-school 
education. 

No  specific  directions  can  be  given  on  this 
subject.  The  financial  condition  of  the  district, 
the  appreciation  of  the  people  for  learning  and 
their  willingness  to  have  their  children  educated 
in  the  public  schools  will  determine  the  ques- 
tion. The  utmost  effort  should  be  put  forth  to 
advance  the  price  paid  for  teaching,  and  the 
salaries  should  be  graded  according  to  qualifica- 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  63 

tion,  and  not  according  to  age  or  sex.  Women 
who  do  the  work  as  thoroughly  are  entitled  to 
the  same  pay  that  men  would  receive  in  the 
same  position.  Generally,  it  will  be  found  that 
better  talent  and  higher  qualifications  can  be 
obtained  for  a  given  sum  by  employing  ladies. 
They  are  more  likely,  also,  to  remain  in  the  pro- 
fession, for  the  reason  that  fewer  places  of  labor 
are  open  to  them. 

EXAMINATION    AND    EMPLOYMENT   OF   TEACHERS. 

Before  a  teacher  is  employed  to  take  charge 
of  a  school,  he  should  be  examined  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  he  possesses  proper  quali- 
fications for  the  position  he  expects  to  occupy. 
In  every  examination  of  teachers  two  qualifica- 
tions are  to  be  discovered:  ist.  The  possession 
of  the  requisite  knowledge ;  2d.  The  possession 
of  the  requisite  skill.  A  person  may  possess 
knowledge,  and  yet  not  have  skill  to  communi- 
cate that  knowledge  to  others.  The  examina- 
tion, therefore,  should  be  directed  chiefly  to  as- 
certain whether  the  applicant  possesses  skill  to 
impart  knowledge.  If  he  is  an  experienced 
teacher,  he  should  be  able  to  produce  certificates 
of  his  skill  from  the  school  authorities  under 
whose  jurisdiction  he  had  been  employed. 

If  the  examination  is  skillfully  conducted,  the 
answer  to  every  question  propounded  by  the 


64  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

examiner  will  show  whether  the  examined  has 
mastered  the  art  of  his  profession.  It  is  a  la- 
mentable fact  that  in  a  large  majority  of  cases 
the  examination  is  most  illogically  conducted. 
Teachers  are  made  to  puzzle  their  brains  over 
the  solutions  of  intricate  problems  in  mathemat- 
ics, or  the  explanation  of  disputed  points  in 
grammar,  or  the  spelling  of  words  not  found  in 
the  literature  of  the  times,  nor  used  by  any  of 
the  great  writers  in  poetry  or  prose,  or  to  give 
the  boundaries  of  some  out-of-the-way  province 
or  the  locality  of  some  obscure  point  on  the 
earth's  surface.  The  ability  to  answer  such 
questions  divulges  the  fact  that  the  teacher  is  a 
mere  curiosity-monger,  and  has  employed  his 
time  in  the  finding  out  of  unusual  and  useless 
things.  He  is,  therefore,  of  all  men  the  most 
unfit  to  teach  a  school.  A  much  more  sensible 
and  useful  method  of  examining  teachers  is  to 
require  each  applicant,  to  exhibit  to  the  exam- 
iner and  to  the  school  authorities  present,  in 
what  manner  he  would  explain  the  principles  of 
arithmetic  to  a  class,  in  what  manner  he  would 
introduce  the  subject  of  botany,  how  he  would 
explain  to  a  class  the  astronomical  principles 
involved  in  the  study  of  geography,  and  how  he 
would  begin  the  study  of  grammar.  The  an- 
swer to  such  questions  will  at  once  discover 
whether  the  person  answering  them  possesses 


SCHOOL  AUrilORiriES.  65 

knowledge  accompanied  with  skill  to  instruct 
others. 

School  superintendents  and  persons  usually 
employed  to  examine  teachers  follow  too  closely 
the  method  adopted  by  the  colleges,  forgetting, 
or  seeming,  indeed,  never  to  have  known,  that 
the  objects  of  the  two  examinations  are  wholly 
dissimilar.  A  college  professor  wishes  simply 
to  discover  whether  the  applicant  for  matricu- 
lation possesses  the  amount  of  knowledge,  on 
specific  subjects,  requisite  to  enter  the  classes 
he  proposes  to  join ;  whereas  the  school  author- 
ities wish  to  know  whether  the  applicant  is 
skilled  in  the  art  of  communicating  knowledge 
to  the  untaught. 

Higher  Qualifications. — It  is  admitted  by  all 
schoolmen  that  he,  who  possesses  a  knowledge 
simply  of  the  branches  to  be  taught  in  a  school, 
and  that,  too,  only  so  far  as  the  purposes  of  the 
school  may  require,  is  indeed  a  very  superficial 
teacher.  To  every  branch  of  learning  there  are 
many  collaterals  which  explain  the  principles  of 
and  extend  the  knowledge  on  the  subject.  A 
teacher  should  be  familiar  with  these  collateral, 
or  co-ordinate  branches  of  learninor.  A  formal 
examination,  therefore,  of  an  applicant  for  the 
position  of  teacher  in  the  branches  required  to 
be  taught  in  the  district,  will  simply  exhibit  the 
teacher's  ability  to  explain  certain  technical  facts. 

6*  E 


66  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

It  shows  no  general  comprehension  of  the  sub- 
ject, no  thoroughness  of  knowledge,  no  general 
observation,  no  liberal  culture;  In  short,  this  ex- 
amination in  no  sense  discovers  whether  or  not 
an  applicant  possesses,  that  general  discipline 
of  mind  and  accumulation  of  knowledge,  which 
would  enable  him  to  lift  up  the  school  from  the 
mere  routine  work  of  study  and  recitation,  as 
laid  down  in  the  books,  to  higher  achievements. 
A  general  conversation  between  a  teacher  and 
an  intelligent  school-board  will  serve  to  draw 
out  the  teacher's  powers.* 

It  is  not  intended  to  suggest  that  the  tech- 

*  In  one  of  the  counties  in  Pennsylvania  most  advanced  on  the  sub- 
ject of  education,  the  school-directors  of  a  township  containing  thirteen 
schools  had  convened  for  the  annual  examination  and  employment  of 
teachers.  The  forenoon  was  consumed  in  the  transaction  of  general 
miscellaneous  business.  Dinner  was  provided  at  a  village  hotel.  Upon 
one  end  of  the  table  was  a  large  roast  of  beef.  Opposite  to  this,  on  one 
side  of  the  table,  was  an  old  gentleman,  a  member  of  the  school-board, 
and  on  the  other  side  was  a  young  man  not  yet  arrived  at  the  age  of  his 
majority,  an  applicant  for  a  school  in  the  district.  The  old  gentleman 
took  up  the  carving-knife  and  handed  it  across  the  table  to  the  young  man 
with  a  request  that  he  should  carve  the  roast.  With  perfect  composure  the 
young  man  took  the  knife  and  fork,  carved  the  roast  and  served  the 
gentlemen  about  the  table.  When  the  dinner  was  over,  the  school  officer 
took  the  young  man  aside,  and  after  a  conversation  of  ten  minutes  said 
to  him,  "  I  want  you  to  come  to  our  village  and  teach  our  school."  The 
old  gentleman  had  discovered  in  the  manners  of  the  young  man  at  the 
table  that  which  led  him  to  believe  that  he  had  enjoyed  a  liberal  train- 
ing, and  that  he  possessed  those  qualifications  which  would  make  hiin 
a  successful  teacher.  Subsequent  events  fully  justified  this  opinion,  for 
the  school  under  his  charge  became  soon  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in 
the  county,  and  though  he  remained  but  two  years  in  the  village, seven- 
teen of  his  pupils  became  school-teachers. 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  6/ 

nical  examination  is  to  be  dispensed  with,  but 
rather  that  this  examination  shall  not  be  over- 
estimated in  its  usefulness.  The  possession  of 
a  liberal  culture  and  a  wide  range  of  informa- 
tion will  be  discovered  much  more  readily,  in  a 
general  conversation  on  each  branch  presented, 
than  by  any  system  of  mere  technical  examina- 
tion that  can  be  devised. 

Every  examination  of  teachers  should  be  con- 
ducted in  the  presence  of  the  school  authorities, 
and  no  member  of  the  board  of  education  should 
be,  for  light  considerations,  excused  from  being 
present,  when  the  persons  who  are  to  be  em- 
ployed as  teachers  in  the  district  are  examined. 

Professional  Certificates. — It  is  essential  to  the 
elevation  and  dignity  of  the  profession  that  pro- 
vision be  made  for  the  granting  of  professional 
certificates,  the  holders  of  which  should  be 
everywhere  exempt  from  the  ordeal  of  a  re- 
examination as  now  conducted,  but  they  should 
not  be  exempt  from  such  inspection  as  will  ex- 
hibit to  the  authorities,  by  whom  they  are  to  be 
employed,  the  possession  of  such  qualifications 
as  they  desire  to  secure  for  the  use  of  the 
schools  in  their  district.  It  will  not  be  neces- 
sary, for  this  purpose  alone,  to  secure  the  pres- 
ence of  an  official  examiner.  An  intelligent 
school-board  will  be  able,  by  a  direct  conver- 
sation   on   the   subject    of   school-teaching,  the 


6S  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

branches  to  be  taught  and  the  manner  of  teach- 
ing them,  to  ascertain  whether  the  applicant  for 
employment  in  their  district  possesses  the  re- 
quisite qualifications.  This,  whilst  it  is  certainly 
more  in  keeping  with  professional  dignity,  is 
also  more  practical  and  reasonable. when  the  fact 
is  kept  in  view,  that  a  professional  certificate,  gen- 
erally, is  evidence  of  knowledge  possessed,  and 
the  only  thing  left  for  the  board  to  discover  is, 
whether  the  person  holding  the  certificate  is  en- 
dowed with  such  general  qualities  and  has  at-' 
tained  that  degree  of  culture,  which  will  make 
him  desirable  as  a  teacher  for  their  neigh- 
borhood. 

SUPERVISION. 

A  proper  supervision  of  the  schools  in  any 
district  is  an  important,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
very  delicate,  duty.  Two  general  systems  are 
in  use.  The  oldest,  and  also  the  most  unsatis- 
factory, is  the  committee  system.  The  school- 
board  divides  itself  into  committees,  the  members 
of  which  by  turns  visit  the  schools.  Under  this 
system  the  supervision  amounts  to  little  more 
than  occasional  informal  visits  to  the  school- 
room, where  a  useless  interruption  of  the  school 
and  a  useless  conversation  with  the  teacher 
occur;  the  conversation  is  more  frequently  on 
the  condition  of  the  weather,  the  school  furni- 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  69 

ture,  the  supply  of  fuel  and  other  equally  un- 
professional and  irrelevant  topics,  than  upon  the 
manaeement  of  the  school,  the  methods  of  teach- 
ing  and  the  progress  made.  Occasionally  it 
happens  that  some  member  of  the  school-board 
possesses  the  requisite  qualifications,  and  has 
sufficient  leisure  to  enable  him  to  visit  the 
schools  with  some  degree  of  regularity.  When 
this  is  the  case,  and  such  a  member  of  the  board 
can  be  induced  to  undertake  the  work,  some 
good  may  result  by  such  departure  from  the 
committee  system. 

There  is,  however,  but  one  system  by  which 
efficient  and  satisfactory  supervision  can  be  ob- 
tained, and  that  is  by  the  employment  of  a  proper 
person  as  district,  city  or  county  superintendent. 
In  many  of  the  States  provision  is  made  by  acts 
of  Assembly  for  the  employment  of  school  super- 
intendents. In  some  States  one  superintendent 
is  employed  for  each  Congressional  district.  In 
others  one  is  employed  for  each  county,  and  in 
others  special  districts  are  established  for  school 
purposes.  In  some  of  the  States  laws  have  been 
enacted  providing  for  the  appointment  of  city 
and  district  superintendents,  who  preside  over 
smaller  districts,  and  therefore  render  a  more 
efficient  service  than  it  is  possible  to  obtain  from 
an  officer  who  has  charge  of  a  larger  division  of 
the  State. 


70  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

In  the  manner  of  appointment,  the  scope  of 
duties,  the  quahficatlons  required  and  general 
utility,  there  is  a  w'de  difference  in  this  office 
and  officer  in  the  several  States.  The  system 
which  has  given  most  satisfaction  to  persons  in-  , 
terested  in  the  efficiency  of  public  schools  is 
that,  in  which  the  superintendent  is  chosen  by 
local  boards  of  directors  or  of  education,  as  the 
case  may  be,  in  the  district  over  which  the  super- 
intendent is  to  preside.  The  choice  of  this  offi- 
cer is  thus  removed  from  the  excitement  and 
from  the  demoralizing  influences  of  political 
campaigns.  It  makes  him  to  a  proper  degree 
responsible  to  the  local  school  authorities.  It 
enables  those  who  best  know  what  is  required 
to  select  a  person  of  proper  qualifications  for 
the  office.  In  some  cases  the  directors  also  fix 
the  compensation  which  the  superintendent  shall 
receive,  and  prescribe  the  duties  that  he  shall 
perform.  In  some  States  the  law  prescribes 
that  the  superintendent  shall  not  only  be  learned 
in  the  arts,  sciences  and  literature,  but  that  he 
shall  be  experienced  In  the  art  of  teaching.  A 
strong  argument  in  favor  of  this  system  is,  it 
gives  harmony  and  unity  to  the  school  authori- 
ties within  the  district,  it  keeps  the  school  man- 
agement as  far  removed  as  possible  from  the 
corrupting  Influences  of  party  politics,  and,  in  the 
third  place,  it  makes  the  superintendent  depend- 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  7 1 

ent  for  continuance  in  office  upon  the  people 
whom  he  serves.  These  advantages  are  Hkely 
to  be  lost  to  the  people  in  those  States  where 
superintendents  are  chosen  by  ballot  at  general 
elections,  or  where  they  are  appointed  by  some 
central  State  authority. 

Whenever  it  shall  occur  that  a  county  or  dis- 
trict is  so  large  that  one  superintendent  cannot 
exercise  a  close  and  thorough  supervision  of 
the  schools  under  his  jurisdiction,  the  local 
school  authorities  should,  by  petition  to  the 
Legislature  for  power,  or  otherwise,  procure  a 
division  of  the  district,  or  permission  to  appoint 
local  superintendents,  who  might  preside  over 
sub-districts  and  report  to  the  general  superin- 
tendent. It  has  now  become  almost  a  universal 
practice  among  superintendents  to  conduct  the 
examination  of  teachers  in  the  presence  of 
schpol-boards.  This  duty  involves  severe  labor 
on  the  part  of  the  superintendent. 

Boards  of  education,  everywhere,  should  pro- 
vide for  a  thorough  supervision,  by  the  employ- 
ment of  a  proper  and  well-cultivated  person  to 
perform  that  duty.  The  appointment  of  such 
an  officer  does  not,  however,  release  the  mem- 
bers of  school-boards  from  exercising  a  general 
supervision  over  the  schools  under  their  charge. 
They  should  require  frequent  reports  from  the 
superintendents,  they  should  be  present  at  all 


72  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

examinations,  and  they  should  visit  as  often  as 
practicable,  and  the  oftener  the  better,  the 
schools  for  the  good  conduct  of  which  they  are 
responsible  to  the  people. 

Out  of  School. — Theoretically,  the  State  pro- 
vides for  the  education  of  every  child  within  its 
borders.  It  is  a  notorious  and  lamentable  re- 
flection, that  in  every  State  in  the  Union  many 
children  never  attend  the  public  schools,  or  any 
other  schools,  or  attend  so  irregularly  or  for  so 
short  a  time  as  to  derive  very  little  benefit  from 
them.  The  local  school  authorities  should  hold 
it  to  be  one  of  their  highest  duties  to  insist  upon 
a  regular  attendance,  or  as  nearly  so  as  practi- 
cable, from  every  child  in  the  district.  School- 
officers  should  make  it  their  business  to  visit 
such  families  as  neglect  to  send  their  children 
tp  school,  and  by  persuasion,  if  possible,  induce, 
these  short-sighted  parents  to  give  to  their  chil- 
dren the  advantages  of  such  an  education  as  the 
public  schools  afford.  There  can  be  but  little 
doubt,  that  half  the  delinquency  in  any  district 
could  be  removed  by  judicious  efforts  put  forth 
by  the  school-board  in  this  direction.  Part  of 
the  work  of  supervision,  therefore,  consists  of 
placing  in  well-provided  schools  all  of  the  eligi- 
ble children  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  until  this 
is  fully  accomplished,  the  school  authorities  in 
the  localities  where  children  are  out  of  school 


SCHOOL  AUTHORITIES.  73 

may  be  reasonably  held  to  be  derelict  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duties.  It  is  true,  this  may  be 
regarded  as  extra-official  work.  It  has  hitherto 
been  unrecognized  as  a  duty,  yet  it  is  unques- 
tionably one  of  the  most  important  services  that 
a  school-officer  can  render  to  the  Common- 
wealth. If  schools  are  provided,  convenient  for 
all,  and  if  all  enjoy  the  advantages  of  these  pro- 
visions, then  the  system  obtains  its  full  force, 
and  the  authorities,  to  whom  the  application  of 
the  system  is  intrusted,  have  discharged  their 
full  duties  to  the  public  who  have  placed  with 
them  a  most  sacred  trust. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


ORGANIZATION. 

TEACHER,  who  has  been  elected  to 
take  charge  of  a  school  In  a  neighbor- 
hood where  he  is  a  stranger,  should 
without  delay,  cultivate  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  families  that  reside  In  the  district. 
There  Is  but  one  way  to  accomplish  this  effectu- 
ally, and  that  is  by  a  personal  visit  made  to  each 
household.  This  may  consume  a  week  or  more 
of  the  time  just  preceding  the  opening  of  the 
school,  but  there  Is  no  better  use  to  which  it 
can  be  put.  Such  visits  will  convince  the  peo- 
ple that  the  teacher  takes  an  Interest  In  his  work 
and  desires  to  do  It  well.  He,  therefore,  in  the 
beginning,  secures  the  confidence  of  those  most 
interested  In  the  success  of  his  school.  He 
should  not  go  from  house  to  house  armed  with 
book  and  pencil,  as  a  census-taker  would  go, 
but  should  call  as  one  desiring  to  cultivate  the 
acquaintance  of  the  families,  and  after  having 

74 


OR  GANIZA  TION.  7  5 

modestly  introduced  himself,  enter  into  a  general 
conversation  on  the  subject  of  the  school ;  thus 
he  may  ascertain  how  many  children  from  each 
family  will  be  likely  to  attend  school,  what  their 
ages  and  advancements  are,  and  what  books 
they  have  studied.  From  the  children  he  can 
learn  who  were  in  the  several  classes,  how  many 
classes  there  were  in  the  school,  how  the  school 
was  organized,  and  many  other  matters  of  detail 
that  will  assist  him  in  making  up  a  complete 
schedule  of  classes  and  studies,  ready  for  use 
on  the  opening  day.  The  facts  gathered  from 
house  to  house,  that  are  of  sufficient  importance 
to  be  remembered,  should  be  entered  in  a  mem- 
orandum-book convenient  for  reference.  Not 
the  least  of  the  advantages  arising  from  this 
practice  will  be  an  increased  attendance  on  the 
first  day  of  school.  There  will  have  been  estab- 
lished beforehand  an  acquaintance  between  the 
teacher  and  his  pupils,  and  that  will  facilitate  their 
coming  to  an  understanding  on  the  organization 
of  the  work  of  the  school. 

With  all  the  facts  that  may  be  gathered  by 
visiting,  as  above  suggested,  before  him,  the 
teacher  may  construct  a  hypothetical  organiza- 
tion. A  time-table  for  exercises  and  a  schedule 
of  studies  and  a  general  plan  may  be  mapped 
out.  This  will  enable  the  teacher  to  construct 
his   classes,  and  to  begin  work  systematically 


^6  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

from   the   opening  of  the  school   on   the  first 
day. 

The  chief  business  of  the  teacher  on  the  first 
day  is  to  win  the  respect  of  the  pupils,  and  to 
establish  confidence  between  them  and  himself. 
Nothing  will  go  farther  to  accomplish  this  than 
a  systematic  beginning.  The  fact  that  the 
teacher  has  ascertained  the  names  of  all  the 
children  in  the  neighborhood,  and  has  arranged 
them  into  classes,  will  enable  him  to  classify  all 
the  pupils  who  present  themselves  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  school,  to  assign  places  for  beginning 
each  study,  and  to  post  a  time-table  in  a  conve- 
nient place  in  the  school-room,  that  with  slight 
variation  will  become  the  permanent  order  of 
exercises  during  the  term.  This  of  itself  will 
not  fail  to  please  the  pupils,  and  to  give  them 
full  confidence  in  the  teacher's  ability  to  *'keep" 
a  good  school. 

ORDER   OF   EXERCISES. 

In  constructing  an  order  of  exercises,  this 
general  principle  should  be  followed :  the  young 
classes  and  the  simplest  lessons  should  come 
first  in  the  morning.  These  may  be  consid- 
ered as  constituting  the  first  general  division 
in  the  school.  The  second  division  would  com- 
prise the  pupils  who  are  engaged  in  the  more 
advanced   branches  of  study.     When  the   les- 


OR  GANIZA  TION.  7/ 

sons  of  the  first  division  shall  have  been  dis- 
posed of,  those  in  the  second  division  should 
be  taken  up,  beginning  with  the  most  difficult, 
thus  reversing  the  order  observed  in  the  first 
division. 

Every  school  should  open  each  day  with  sing- 
ing, and,  unless  objection  is  made,  the  singing 
should  be  followed  by  the  reading  of  a  passage 
from  the  Scriptures,  and  by  prayer.  No  teacher 
should  permit  a  term  of  his  school  to  be  opened 
without  these  exercises.  If  he  is  himself  unable 
to  conduct  them,  some  proper  person  in  the 
district  should  be  invited  to  be  present  at  the 
opening  of  the  school  on  the  first  day  to  invoke 
God's  blessing  upon  the  work  about  to  be 
begun. 

Teachers  will  find  it  convenient  and  useful  to 
devote  five  minutes,  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  opening  exercises  every  morning,  to  a  talk 
on  the  business  of  the  day,  and  on  matters  in 
general,  etc. 

The  classes  in  the  alphabet  should  be  first  on 
the  list  for  recitation.  These  may  be  followed 
by  classes  in  spelling  and  reading,  and  these  by 
classes  in  arithmetic,  geography,  history  and  the 
other  sciences.  Botany  and  geology  should 
never  be  studied  in  the  winter  season  in  north- 
ern latitudes.  No  knowledge  worth  having  can 
be  imparted  to  children  by  teaching  these  sci- 

7» 


78  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

ences  wholly  within    the  barren  limits  of  the 
school-room. 


THE    TIME-TABLE. 

For  the  convenience  of  arranging  a  time-table 
and  constructing  a  schedule,  schools  are  classified 
as  follows  :  Mixed  schools,  Graded  schools,  Acad- 
emies and  Colleges.  Mixed  schools  are  such  as 
are  kept  in  most  of  the  rural  districts,  in  which 
pupils  of  all  grades  study  and  recite  in  one  room. 
Graded  schools  comprise  all  in  which  two  or 
more  teachers  are  employed,  the  pupils  being 
classified  according  to  the  progress  they  have 
made.  A  time-table  for  a  mixed  school  should 
fix  a  time  for  opening  in  the  morning,  times  for 
recesses  before  noon,  for  a  midday  recess,  for 
afternoon  recesses  and  for  closing.  Thus  the 
day  will  be  divided  into  nearly  equal  parts. 
The  teacher  will  then  arrange  his  classes  for  re- 
citations so  as  to  occupy  these  periods  of  time 
to  the  best  advantage ;  five  minutes  of  time  in 
each  division  should  be  reserved  for  miscellane- 
ous duties. 

The  classes  of  small  children  should  have 
short  recitations  after  the  opening  of  the  school 
In  the  morning  and  immediately  after  each  re- 
cess during  the  day.  These  pupils  have  not 
yet  learned  the  art  of  preparing  lessons;  they 
require  Instruction.     It  is  unwise  to  attempt  to 


ORGANIZA  TION,  'jg 

give  them  long  lessons ;  short  and  frequent  ex- 
ercises will  accomplish  much  more  in  the  way  of 
imparting  knowledge,  and  at  the  same  time  will 
keep  the  litde  ones  in  better  discipline. 

Some  of  the  more  advanced  pupils  should  re- 
cite before  the  first  morning  recess,  and  all  of 
the  more  difficult  recitations  should  be  disposed 
of  before  twelve  o'clock  noon.  Exercises  in  pen- 
manship, composition,  elocution,  drawing  and 
music  should  be  reserved  for  the  afternoon,  but 
neither  penmanship  nor  drawing  lessons  should 
be  executed  immediately  after  recess,  as  the 
nerves  are  then  too  unsteady  for  such  work. 
The  practice  of  devoting,  at  long  intervals,  half  a 
day  to  exercises  in  composition  and  declamation 
rarely  proves  satisfactory.  It  will  be  found  much 
more  interesting  to  all,  and  much  more  profit- 
able to  the  participants  in  these  exercises,  to 
divide  the  school  into  convenient  classes,  which 
can  be  made  to  rotate  with  each  other,  and  with 
other  exercises,  as  music  lessons,  drawing,  etc., 
in  such  order  as  to  consume  a  short  interval 
near  the  close  of  each  school-day. 

After  a  table  of  exercises  has  been  adopted  it 
should  be  strictly  adhered  to  in  every  particular, 
as  the  slightest  variation  therefrom  destroys  the 
confidence  which  its  publication  invokes,  and 
thereby  invites  irregularity  and  confusion.  If 
experience  proves  that  changes  in  the  schedule 


80  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL, 

are  necessary,  their  Introduction  should  be  duly 
announced,  and  the  reasons  for  their  adoption 
explained  to  the  school.  The  introduction  of 
recesses  is  intended  to  abolish  the  practice  of 
passing  in  and  out  of  the  school-room  by  pupils 
during  school-hours,  as  well  as  for  purposes  of 
recreation  and  exercise. 

The  ancient  pail  of  water  and  tin-cup  have 
long  since  been  abolished  from  well-regulated 
schools,  as  nuisances.  Every  schoolhouse  should 
be  provided  with  water,  so  that  at  recess  such 
pupils  as  desire  may  obtain  it  for  drinking,  but 
the  pernicious  practice  of  keeping  water  in  the 
school-room,  and  of  allowing  the  children  dur- 
ing school-hours  to  leave  their  seats  to  obtain 
it,  should  not  be  permitted.  Of  course  to  this 
general  rule  with  regard  to  leaving  the  room 
or  partaking  of  water  there  will  be  occasionally 
exceptions,  and  of  the  propriety  of  these  the 
teacher  must  be  the  judge,  being  careful  always 
to  err  rather  on  the  side  of  leniency. 

CLASSIFICATION   NECESSARY. 

It  is  deemed  unnecessary  to  present  any 
arguments  here  in  favor  of  classification.  It 
is  assumed  that  no  teacher  would  be  employed 
in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  who  does  not 
recognize  the  necessity  for  a  thorough  classifica- 
tion of  pupils  in  schools  of  every  grade. 


OR  GA  NIZA  TION.  8 1 

In  the  construction  of  classes  it  will  always 
happen  that  dull  and  apt  pupils  are  harnessed 
together.  The  effort  to  drag  along  a  slow  lad, 
and  the  attempt  to  goad  him  into  the  pace  of 
his  more  apt  companion,  would  be  injurious ; 
so  likewise  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  bright 
pupil,  in  order  to  keep  him  by  the  side  of  his 
dull  classmate,  would  be  equally  improper. 
Other  studies  must,  therefore,  be  provided  for 
such  as  are  able  to  do  additional  work.  The 
apt  pupils  may  be  taken  together  to  constitute 
a  class  in  some  additional  branch  of  learning 
that  can  be  introduced  into  the  school ;  they 
will  thus  have  less  time  to  devote  to  each  study, 
and  yet  all  will  be  profitably  employed. 

FORMING    CLASSES. 

There  is  little  danger  of  constructing  classes 
too  large  in  mixed  schools.  It  rarely  happens 
in  the  rural  districts  that  any  considerable  num- 
ber of  pupils  will  be  prepared  to  pursue  the 
same  studies  at  the  same  time.  The  general 
suggestion,  therefore,  that  a  teacher  should 
arrange  into  the  several  classes,  for  which  he 
has  provided,  all  pupils  who  are  able  to  pur- 
sue the  branches  of  study  laid  down  in  the 
schedule,  is  deemed  sufficient.  This  observa- 
tion, however,  applies  only  to  the  advanced 
pupils  in  our  rural  districts.     The  younger  chil- 

F 


82  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

dren  must  always  be  formed  into  small  classes 
that  will  make  short  recitations  in  short  lessons, 
whilst  the  advanced  classes  need  recite  but  once 
a  day  in  each  study ;  in  some  of  the  less  import- 
ant branches,  recitations  may  be  given  on  alter- 
nate days  by  alternating  classes  with  each  other. 
Greater  progress  will  be  made,  however,  by 
daily  recitations,  though  they  be  short,  than  by 
less  frequent  and  longer  recitations.  It  is  ad- 
visable, therefore,  to  construct  the  order  of  exer- 
cises so  as  to  provide  as  nearly  as  possible  for 
daily  recitations  in  every  study. 

ASSIGNING    LESSONS. 

In  assigning  lessons  to  each  class,  the  aver- 
age ability  of  the  members  must  be  taken  as  the 
m.easurement  of  the  task  to  be  imposed.  The 
duller  pupils  must  not  be  discouraged,  and  those 
who  master  their  lessons  must  have  enough  to 
do.  By  patience  and  well-directed  perseverance 
the  teacher  will  soon  be  able  to  establish  a  gen- 
eral equality  in  the  class,  which  will  prove  to  be 
of  great  advantage  throughout  the  term. 

GRADED    SCHOOLS. 

The  organization  for  graded  schools  is  usually 
constructed  by  the  local  school-authorities,  such 
as  boards  of  control,  school-directors  and  super- 
intendents.     Teachers   are   employed  to  take 


ORGANIZATION.  83 

charge  of  special  departments,  and  these  de- 
partments have  their  classes  and  recitations, 
books  and  studies  provided  for  in  advance,  in- 
dependent of  any  action  of  the  teachers.  The 
proper  organization  of  such  schools,  therefore, 
is  treated  of  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MANAGEMENT. 


OLLOWING  the  work  of  organizing 
is  that  of  managing  a  school.  The 
subject  of  School  Government  is  not 
included  in  this  division.  The  teacher 
is  a  legislator,  an  executive  officer  and  an  in- 
structor. Before  proceeding  to  the  considera- 
tion of  Methods  of  Instruction,  it  is  proper  to  set 
forth  a  system  for  the  management  of  the  busi- 
ness of  TEACHING. 


THE    FIRST   LESSON. 

After  a  school  has  been  organized,  the  classes 
constructed,  the  times  for  recitation  designated, 
as  directed  in  the  previous  chapter,  all  things 
are  in  readiness  for  the  pupils  to  enter  upon  the 
real  work  of  the  session.  A  lesson  must  now 
be  assigned  for  each  class.  The  teacher  should 
be  careful  not  to  overtask  his  pupils  in  the  be- 
ginning. Having  first  ascertained  the  average 
capacity  of  the  members  of  the  class  and  the 


84 


MANA  GEMENT.  8  5 

average  progress  they  have  made,  he  should 
designate  a  place  for  beginning,  and  assign  les- 
sons entirely  within  the  average  comprehension 
and  ability. 

Incalculable  advantage  will  accrue  to  both 
teacher  and  pupils,  if  the  teacher  will  in  ad- 
vance of  the  time  for  meeting  his  class  deter- 
mine the  place  for  beginning  and  the  extent  of 
the  lesson  to  be  given.  He  can  then  be  pre- 
pared to  give,  in  a  conversation  of  five  minutes' 
duration,  a  few  practical  hints  to  his  class,  sug- 
gesting a  logical  method  of  taking  up  the  study, 
and  briefly  state  what  he  will  expect  the  class 
to  accomplish  in  the  recitation.  This  will  estab- 
lish pleasant  relations  between  the  teacher  and 
his  pupils,  and  will  be  an  exhibition  on  his  part 
of  the  possession  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  subject  beyond  what  is  found  in  the  text- 
book. Recognizing  this,  the  pupils  will  look  to 
the  teacher  as  a  friend  and  helper  in  the  labors 
that  they  are  about  to  undertake. 

It  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  a  proper 
relationship  in  the  school-room,  that  the  teacher 
shall  not  be  regarded  in  any  sense  as  a  spy  to 
detect  the  imperfections  of  the  pupils,  or  a  police 
officer  to  insist  upon  the  performance  of  difficult 
tasks  or  to  punish  delinquencies.  By  beginning 
work  as  has  been  indicated  the  teacher  assumes 
the   position   of  an    instructor,    he   establishes 

8 


86  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

himself  In  the  confidence  of  his  pupils  by  giving 
evidence  that  he  is  able  to  teach.  All  this  is 
essential  to  the  success  of  the  school. 

These  general  directions,  though  they  are 
emphasized  in  their  importance  in  the  case  of 
classes  coming  for  the  first  time  before  a  teacher 
may  with  advantage  and  profit  be  adopted  for 
the  introduction  of  every  new  subject  that  is 
encountered  in  the  progress  of  study.  To  illus- 
trate :  suppose  a  class  in  arithmetic  is  about  to 
enter  upon  the  study  of  proposition.  The  time 
for  the  first  recitation  should  be  wholly  consumed 
by  the  teacher  in  explanation  of  the  subject. 
The  members  of  a  proportion  should  be  written 
on  the  blackboard,  and  their  relation  to  each 
other  fully  explained,  in  a  method  suited  to  the 
comprehension  of  every  pupil.  This  done,  the 
teacher  may  write  upon  the  board  a  simple  ex- 
ample, as,  'Tf  twelve  hats  cost  twenty-four  dol- 
lars, what  will  seven  hats  cost  ?"  The  laws  of 
proportion  having  been  explained  to  the  class, 
the  teacher  proceeds  to  construct  from  this 
problem  a  proportion  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  he  has  already  laid  down.  There  are 
three  members  of  the  proportion  given,  and  a 
fourth  is  required.  Now,  this  required  term  will 
be  the  answer  to  the  question — namely,  the  price 
of  seven  hats — and  will  be  expressed  in  dollars. 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  fourth  term  of 


J/^i^^^;A^^TO^il>^  87 


the  proportion  will  be  dollars,  and  as  the  third 
term  must  be  of  the  same  denomination  as 
the  fourth,  it  also  must  be  dollars;  therefore, 
write  twenty- four  dollars  on  the  blackboard  as 
the  third  term  of  the  proportion.  The  third  term 
is  the  price  of  twelve  hats;  the  fourth  term  when 
found  will  be  the  price  of  seven  hats ;  conse- 
quently, the  fourth  term  will  be  smaller  than  the 
third.  According  to  the  principles  of  propor- 
tion already  explained,  if  the  fourth  term  is 
smaller  than  the  third,  the  second  term  must  be 
smaller  than  the  first.  Hence,  write  seven  hats 
for  the  second  term  and  twelve  hats  for  the  first 
term.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to  explain  the 
methods  of  solving  proportions. 

If  the  teacher  has  been  clear  in  his  demon- 
stration, his  class  will  be  able,  from  the  illustra- 
tion given,  to  construct  a  proportion  for  every 
example  found  in  any  ordinary  arithmetic  under 
this  rule,  and  having  thus  acquired  by  the 
process  of  deduction  the  rule  for  the  solution  of 
problems  involving  these  principles,  this  rule 
will  be  part  of  the  pupils'  positive  knowledge, 
not  to  be  forgotten,  as  mere  memorized  matter 
very  often  is. 

Suppose  it  is  the  geography  class,  and  that  it 
is  about  to  enter  upon  the  study  of  one  of  the 
grand  divisions— as,  for  example,  Europe.  The 
teacher  should  nqw  haye  before  him  a  map  qf 


88  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

the  world.  Using  the  knowledge  the  class  has 
already  acquired  in  the  study  of  other  grand 
divisions,  the  teacher  should  state  briefly  the 
historical  relations  between  what  has  been 
studied  and  what  is  about  to  be  studied.  If  the 
class  has  passed  over  that  portion  of  the  book 
which  treats  of  the  western  continent,  as  is 
usual  in  geographies  published  in  the  United 
States,  it  will  be  profitable  to  call  attention  to 
the  manner  in  which  America  was  discovered, 
and  how  it  was  settled  by  people  from  Europe ; 
how  Europe,  prior  to  that  time,  had  been  settled 
by  people  from  Asia,  thus  showing  the  class 
that  it  is  entering  upon  the  study  of  the.  geog- 
raphy of  an  older  settled  country  than  that  of 
which  it  had  previously  studied.  The  general 
characteristics  of  the  government,  the  people,  the 
political  subdivisions  and  the  characters  of  the 
nations  and  of  the  people  inhabiting  these  sub- 
divisions should  be  outlined,  contrasting  what  is 
to  be  with  what  has  been  studied,  in  such  man- 
ner as  will  tend  to  arouse  the  curiosity  and  fix 
the  attention  of  the  pupils  upon  the  subject  be- 
fore them.  The  general  geographical  relation 
of  the  new  with  the  old  should  be  noted,  to- 
gether with  such  matters  of  general,  interest 
as  tend  to  show  the  connection  between  them, 
as  may  occur  to  the  mind  of  the  teacher. 

Suppose,  again,  that  the  subject  to  be  taken 


MANAGEMENT.  89 

Up  by  the  class  is  botany ;  the  teacher  should 
be  prepared  in  advance  with  specimens  of  plants, 
seeds  and  flowers  gathered  from  the  neighbor- 
ing fields  or  woods.  He  should  explain  the 
nature  and  scope  of  the  science  of  botany,  note 
the  pleasures  that  will  arise  during,  and  the 
benefits  that  may  result  from,  its  study.  Ex- 
hibiting to  the  class  the  specimens  before  him, 
he  will  be  able  to  show,  that  on  some  plants  the 
leaves  grow  on  the  stem  opposite  each  other, 
that  on  others  they  come  out  on  opposite  sides 
alternately,  and  that  in  others  they  grow  in  cir- 
cles or  whorls ;  that  plants  differ  in  the  form 
of  their  roots,  some  having  straight,  slender, 
branching  roots,  and  others  having  bulbs,  and 
that  they  differ  in  the  form  and  structure  of 
their  fruit.  The  general  peculiarities  of  the 
flower  should  also  attract  attention.  In  some 
there  is  but  one  petal,  in  others,  two,  three,  four 
and  five,  or  a  great  many.  The  class  may  be 
told  that  plants  are  arranged  in  great  families, 
and  that  these  are  subdivided  into  classes,  gen- 
era, species  and  varieties,  indicated  by  their 
several  similarities  and  differences. 

These  illustrations  are  sufficient  to  explain 
the  general  method.  It  may  be  readily  applied 
in  every  branch  of  study  introduced  into  the 
public  schools,  and  the  time  allotted  for  the  first 
recitation  of  each  dassJn^any  subject  cannot  be 

Jf   ^     OF  THE  ^ 

K    UNIVERSITY   f 


90  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

more  profitably  consumed.  The  lesson  pre- 
viously determined  upon  by  the  teacher  may 
then  be  assigned,  and  in  the  preparation  of  that 
lesson  for  recitation,  each  pupil  will  be  pleased 
to  find,  that  he  is  entering  upon  the  work  of  dis- 
covering the  facts,  that  have  been  indicated  and 
clothed  with  new  interest  by  the  preliminary 
remarks  of  the  teacher. 

It  will  readily  be  imagined  how  much  more 
eagerly  pupils  will  enter  upon  the  study  of 
a  subject  that  has  been  so  pleasantly  unfolded 
to  them,  than  would  be  the  case  if  the  same  had 
been  harshly  thrust  at  them  with  an  implied  in- 
difference, as  if  to  say,  "  There !  take  that  and 
make  the  most  of  it." 

By  some  educators  the  idea  is  entertained 
that  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  must  not  be 
made  easy  and  agreeable.  Upon  all  such,  of 
course,  these  suggestions  are  lost,  but  to  that 
large  class  of  intelligent,  educated  and  conscien- 
tious men  and  women,  engaged  in  the  manage- 
ment of  schools  throughout  the  country,  and 
who  are  putting  forth  earnest  efforts  to  elevate 
and  methodize  the  business  of  school-teaching, 
this  practice  is  commended  with  the  full  confi- 
dence, that  wherever  it  is  intelligently  applied  it 
will  give  satisfaction  to  both  teacher  and  pupil. 
When  the  study  of  a  subject  shall  have  been 
concluded,  the  teacher  may,  by  a  succinct  and 


MANAGEMENT  9 1 

well-digested  review  of  the  matter  gone  over, 
greatly  assist  the  members  of  the  class  in  fixing 
upon  the  mind,  in  logical  order,  the  leading  facts 
in  such  manner  as  will  enable  them  to  grasp  the 
whole  subject  in  a  single  effort. 

NUMBER   OF    STUDIES. 

The  number  of  branches  that  should  be 
studied,  at  the  same  time,  will  to  some  extent 
depend  upon  the  capacity  of  the  pupil.  The 
universal  experience  in  the  best  schools,  both  in 
this  country  and  in  Europe,  has  settled  upon 
the  assigning  of  three  studies  as  the  course 
which  may  be  pursued  with  the  most  profit  to 
the  student.  Reading,  writing,  declamation, 
composition,  music,  drawing,  and  the  like,  are 
not  included  in  the  catalogue  of  full  studies. 
These  are  taken  up  in  convenient  order  In  addi- 
tion to  the  three  studies  that  require  more  time 
and  closer  application.  Occasionally  pupils  will 
be  found  so  slow  of  comprehension  as  to  be 
unable  to  keep  up  their  work  in  three  classes. 
These  may  be  allowed  to  take  but  two  reg- 
ular studies,  and  to  consume  their  time  in  the 
somewhat  physical  exercises  as  above  indicated. 
Others  will  possess  an  aptness  to  acquire  know- 
ledge that  will  enable  them  to  take  up  four,  or 
even  five,  of  the  regular  studies.  In  addition  to 


92  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

the    ordinary  complement    of    those    branches 
requiring  little  or  no  preparation. 

The  tendency  in  most  public  schools  is  to 
load  down  the  pupils  with  too  much  work. 
There  are  few  graded  schools  in  the  villages 
and  cities  throughout  the  United  States,  in  which 
pupils  are  not  required  to  recite  in  from  ten  to 
fifteen,  or  even  a  greater  number,  of  branches 
of  study  every  week.  This,  in  every  sense,  is  a 
pernicious  practice  tending  to  confusion  of 
thought,  and  is  prejudicial  to  sound  mental  dis- 
cipline. It  is  far  better  to  take  up  three  studies, 
and  to  prosecute  them  with  reasonable  rapidity, 
and  when  the  limits  of  a  public-school  course 
shall  be  reached  to  take  up  three  others,  and 
thus,  in  the  same  time,  fully  as  many  branches 
can  be  studied,  without  the  confusing  of  facts 
and  philosophy,  but  in  a  manner  that  will  enable 
the  pupil  to  obtain  a  distinct  knowledge  of  each 
science,  and  to  use  the  facts  of  each  in  the  elu- 
cidation of  the  principles  of  others. 

THREE    STUDIES   ENOUGH. 

If  it  is  true,  as  experience  teaches,  that  three 
studies,  at  the  utmost,  afford  sufficient  work  for 
young  men  in  the  colleges  and  universities,  it  is 
much  more  true  of  the  pupils  of  tender  ages 
in  the  mixed  schools  of  the  rural  districts,  and 
of  the  graded  schools  of  villages  and  cities.     No 


MANAGEMENT. 


93 


man  who  has  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  col- 
lege education,  and  who  has  attained  that  cul- 
ture which  creates  within  him  an  active  sympa- 
thy for  the  injured  of  every  class,  can  look  with 
complacency  upon  the  troops  of  girls  and  boys 
passing  to  and  from  school,  loaded  down  with 
satchels  and  packages  of  books,  that  a  young 
man  at  college  could,  by  no  act  of  persuasion,  be 
forced  to  totter  under.  On  the  college  campus 
an  armful  of  books  is  indicative  of  feeble- mind- 
edness.  It  would  be  uncharitable  to  judge  the 
girls  and  boys  of  the  public  schools  by  this  rule, 
but  it  is  true,  that  the  system  of  education  which 
induces  this  book-lugging  practice  is  the  chief 
source  of  that  feeble-mindedness,  which  shows 
itself  in  the  general  obtuseness  of  intellect  with 
which  every  effort  at  essential  progress  is  so 
obstinately  confronted.  Whilst,  therefore,  the 
claim  of  scientific  study  is  urged  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public-school  authorities,  the  neces- 
sity for  such  an  arrangement  of  classes  as  will 
provide  for  the  studying  of  all  branches  in 
groups  of  three  is  insisted  upon. 

THOROUGHNESS   NECESSARY. 

Thoroughness  in  the  work  of  every  day  is 
the  key  which  unlocks  that  mystery  of  success, 
whereby  well-qualified  teachers  lead  their  classes 
in  regular  succession,  through  numerous  branches 


94  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

of  learning  by  prosecuting  but  a  small  number 
at  the  same  time.  Thus,  instead  of  giving  one 
term  to  "mental  arithmetic,"  another  term  to 
"written  arithmetic,"  and  a  third  to  "higher 
arithmetic,"  let  the  subject  be  taken  up  and  dis- 
posed of  in  one  or  two  sessions.  Let  grammar 
and  geography  be  treated  in  the  same  manner ; 
then,  with  this  put  behind  him,  the  pupil  will  ad- 
vance to  other  branches  of  study,  in  which  the 
principles  and  formulas  previously  learned  are 
applied,  extended  and  utilized.  A'  teacher,  who 
understands  the  subject  of  arithmetic  and  the  art 
of  teaching  it,  will  be  able  to  so  instruct  his  class, 
by  going  over  the  subject  once,  that  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  drag  the  dull  length  of  that  subject 
through  the  numerous  terms  of  the  whole  period 
of  school-life.  Algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry, 
natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  geography,  geolo- 
gy, botany  and  most  other  branches  of  study, 
that  can  be  pursued  in  the  public  schools,  or  in 
higher  institutions,  employ  the  principles  and  ap- 
ply the  processes  of  arithmetic,  and  they  furnish 
sufficient  opportunity  for  review.  The  study  of 
abstract  principles  is  a  means  of  disciplining  the 
mind,  but  the  use  of  those  principles,  in  the 
search  for  knowledge  in  other  paths,  establishes 
them  as  part  of  the  working  power  of  the  mind. 
The  study  of  history  affords  the  best  reviewing 
grounds  wherein  to  display  the  facts  of  geog- 


MANAGEMENT.  95 

raphy.    Botany  and  geology  review  both  history 
and  geography. 

HIGHEST   RESULTS    REQUIRED. 

A  teacher  who  was  devoted  to  the  study  of 
arithmetic,  chiefly  because  he  understood  noth- 
ing else,  with  countenance  glowing  with  imag- 
ined victory,  exclaimed,  "  Do  you  pretend  to 
say  that  a  class  of  boys  and  girls  derives  no  bene- 
fit from  the  exercises  found  in  our  higher  arith- 
metics ?'*  To  this  the  very  pertinent  answer 
was  given :  "  It  is  not  enough  that  pupils  shall 
merely  derive  benefit  from  any  exercise ;  there 
is  a  greater  question  to  be  settled,  namely :  Is 
the  time  of  the  pupil  so  occupied  as  to  secure 
to  himself  the  greatest  possible  advantage  ?" 
That  teacher  who  is  content  simply  because  he 
is  doing  good,  certainly  falls  very  far  short  of 
the  discharge  of  his  duty  to  the  public,  more 
especially  so  if,  by  the  employment  of  different 
methods,  much  more  could  be  accomplished  in 
the  same  time.  A  farmer  may  purchase  a  fer- 
tilizer at  a  distance  of  five  miles  from  his  home 
at  a  cost  of  fifty  dollars  per  ton ;  he  may  con- 
sume time  in  laying  it  upon  his  fields,  spreading 
it  upon  the  surface  and  working  it  into  the  soil, 
and  will  be  profited  thereby.  By  going  the 
same  distance  in  an  opposite  direction,  he  could 
have  purchased  an*article  vastly  superior  to  that 


96  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

which  he  is  content  to  use  ;  by  the  employment 
of  the  same  time  and  labor,  therefore,  he  might 
have  added  a  much  higher  degree  of  productive- 
ness to  the  soil,  and  might  have  reaped  three- 
fold the  benefits  that  were  realized  from  the  use 
of  the  inferior  fertilizer.  Is  he  a  judicious  farmer, 
who  is  content  to  use  a  compound,  simply  be- 
cause it  increases  the  fertility  of  his  soil,  though 
at  the  same  cost  he  might  obtain  far  greater  re- 
sults by  the  use  of  another?  School  authorities 
and  teachers,  employed  in  cultivating  the  public 
mind,  have  a  duty  to  perform  infinitely  more 
delicate  in  its  nature  and  far-reachine  in  its  re- 
suits,  than  has  he  who  expends  his  efforts  on  ,the 
rude  elements  of  the  earth.  It  requires  research 
and  deliberation  to  discover  and  select,  and  it 
requires  courage  to  apply  that  which  is  best. 
But  until  they  are  reasonably  assured  that  the 
results  of  each  school-term  are  the  highest  at- 
tainable, by  the  means  at  their  command,  neither 
the  board  of  education,  the  teacher,  the  pupils 
nor  the  great  public  interested  in  the  success 
of  the  people's  school  should  cease  from  efforts 
to  lift  up,  expand  and  perfect  the  system. 

STUDY. 

To  Study  the  lesson  is  the  next  business  in 
order.  In  this  the  teacher  has  a  twofold  duty 
to  perform:    First,  to  prepare  himself  for  the 


MANAGEMENT.  97 

recitation  ;  secondly,  to  so  direct  the  efforts  of 
his  pupils  in  their  studies,  as  will  enable  them  to 
accomplish  the  greatest  amount  of  work  in  the 
shortest  space  of  time.  It  will  be  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  school  if,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
term,  the  teacher  will  explain,  in  a  general  way, 
the  nature  and  object  of  study.  Upon  the 
organization  of  each  class  more  specific  direc- 
tions should  be  given,  having  special  reference 
to  the  branch  of  learning  about  to  be  taken  up 
by  the  class.  In  the  five  minutes  after  the 
opening  of  school  each  day,  set  apart  for  mis- 
cellaneous matters,  the  teacher  may  frequently 
remind  the  whole  school  of  his  instructions  on 
this  subject. 

THE   OBJECT   OF    STUDY. 

Study  has  for  its  immediate  object  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge.  The  act  of  accumulating 
facts  previously  unknown  is  of  itself  a  pure 
source  of  pleasure,  and  the  consciousness  of  the 
possession  of  knowledge  gives  birth  to  soul- 
inspiring  reflections,  among  the  most  delightful 
experienced  by  mankind.  In  all  of  its  depart- 
ments Nature  has  laid  up  great  stores  of  original 
and  independent  truths.  These  are  discovered 
and  brought  forth  by  human  efforts,  and  by 
human  efforts  they  are  arranged  in  natural 
order  and  combined  under  natural  laws,  in  such 


gS  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

manner  as  to  constitute  science.  The  pleasure 
arising  from  the  discovery  and  combination  of 
these  truths  in  nature,amply  repays  the  labor  and 
efforts  put  forth  by  the  student. 

UTILITY   OF    KNOWLEDGE. 

•  Apart  from  the  pure  gratification  that  arises 
from  the  act  of  accumulating  knowledge,  there 
is  the  idea  of  usefulness  attached  to  every  fact 
that  is  acquired.  A  knowledge  of  the  simple 
processes  of  arithmetic  is  useful  in  the  ordinary 
business  transactions  of  society.  Knowledge  of 
the  facts  of  history  and  of  geography  enables 
one  to  read  intelligently  the  news  of  the  day, 
and  to  discourse  upon  it  understandingly.  A 
knowledge  of  the  elementary  principles  of  chem- 
istry, natural  philosophy,  physical  geography, 
botany,  mineralogy,  and  the  like,  is  of  practical 
use  to  the  farmer,  the  doctor  of  medicine,  the 
traveler,  the  navigator — in  short,  to  a  man  in 
almost  any  of  the  pursuits,  whether  commercial, 
manufacturing,  agricultural  or  professional — and 
this  relation  of  school-day  study  to  the  business 
of  after-life  should  in  no  sense  be  ignored  or 
under-estimated.  It  will  stand  as  an  incentive 
to  study  with  many,  on  whom  the  idea  of 
pleasure  and  discipline  would  have  no  effect  or 
weight.  What  to  one  is  a  sordid  and  unworthy 
motive,  to  another  may  stand  as  the  end  and 


MANAGEMENT.  99 

aim  of  his  loftiest  ambition.  The  utility  of 
knowledge  should,  therefore,  be  duly  set  forth 
for  the  edification  of  such  as  are  weak. 

STUDY   USEFUL    FOR    DISCIPLINE. 

Study  is  useful  to  discipline  the  powers  of  the 
mind.  The  musician,  whose  fingers  touch  with 
rapidity  and  marvelous  accuracy  and  delicacy 
the  keys  of  the  instrument,  was  once  but  a 
clumsy  beginner.  By  continued  systematic 
practice  he  has  attained  a  perfection,  which 
commands  the  admiration  of  all  lovers  of  this 
art.  The  powers  of  the  mind  are  in  reference 
to  their  developments  not  unlike  the  powers  of 
the  body.  They  are  perfected  by  discipline,  and 
this  discipline  is  attained  through  systematic 
and  logical  mental  e'ffort.  Pupils  must  not, 
therefore,  be  allowed  to  blunder  along  as  best 
they  may  in  the  preparation  of  their  lessons. 
Feebleness  of  mind  is  inseparably  connected 
with  obtuseness  of  sense.  Whatever  method  of 
training,  therefore,  sharpens  the  senses,  must  in- 
evitably strengthen  the  mind.  One  of  the  first 
efforts,  therefore,  in  the  school-room  should  be 
so  directed  as  to  accustom  the  children  to  the 
proper  exercise  of  the  senses.  This  under  all 
circumstances  will  prove  to  be  the  most  effectual 
means  of  developing  the  mental  powers.  From 
early  infancy  a   child   acquires  knowledge   by 


lOO  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

observation.  At  first  this  observation  proceeds 
in  an  undirected,  hap-hazard  sort  of  way,  without 
system  or  purpose.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher 
to  systematize  and  regulate  these  exercises  of 
the  senses.  If  bunghng  methods  are  employed, 
or  the  pupil  is  allowed  to  proceed  without 
method,  the  exercise  of  his  senses  will  soon  be 
embarrassed,  limited  and  altogether  arrested  ;  a 
dull,  feeble-minded  man  or  woman  will  be  the 
result.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  this  natural 
propensity  to  acquire  knowledge  by  observation 
is,  by  easy  process,  brought  under  proper  dis- 
cipline, the  first  great  duty  of  the  teacher  is 
discharged. 

-  Precisely  here  is  the  occasion  and  the  rea- 
son for  introducing  the  study  of  the  material  sci- 
ences into  the  public  schools.  The  elementary 
facts  of  the  sciences  are  acquired  through  the 
senses,  and  should  therefore  be  presented  to  the 
pupil  at  the  time  these  faculties  are  most  active. 
At  a  later  period,  when  Judgment,  which  ar- 
ranges, and  Reason,  which  combines,  have  been 
developed,  these  facts  of  science  will  be  ar- 
ranged and  combined,  and  thus  philosophy,  the 
soul  of  science,  will  be  evolved.  These  facts, 
gathered  in  early  years  through  the  operation 
of  the  senses,  and  this  philosophy,  evolved  by 
Reason,  whereby  facts  are  brought  together  in 
natural    order,    constitute   science.     The   work 


MANAGEMENT.  lOI 

of  observing  and  combining  is  study  ;  if  this  is 
logically  carried  forward,  the  highest  discipline 
of  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  will  be  attained. 
As  by  discipline  the  musician  is  enabled  to  use 
his  physical  powers  to  produce  the  highest 
effects  in  art,  as  the  smith,  by  discipline,  is  en- 
abled to  direct  with  precision  the  stroke  of  his 
hammer,  and  as  the  sportsman,  by  discipline,  ac- 
quires the  ability  to  balance  with  absolute  ac- 
curacy his  rifle,  so  the  student,  by  discipline,  is 
enabled  to  bring  under  perfect  control  all  the 
powers  of  his  mind,  to  be  used  promptly,  accu- 
rately and  efficiently  at  any  instant,  and  for  a 
definite  purpose.  As  playing  ball,  swinging  on 
ropes  and  vaulting  on  bars  give  muscular 
power,  but  no  efficiency,  to  the  musician,  the 
mechanic  or  the  artisan,  so  unguided  or  mis- 
directed efforts  of  the  intellectual  faculties  may 
result  in  the  accumulation  of  facts,  may  store  the 
mind  with  knowledge  without  disciplining  the 
faculties  in  such  manner  as  to  give  efficiency  to 
mental  action,  or  ability  to  logically  pursue  prin- 
ciples to  practical  results.  It  is,  therefore,  of 
importance  that  the  habits  and  methods  of  study 
in  the  public  schools  shall  be  so  formed  as  not 
only  to  store  the  mind  of  the  pupil  with  facts, 
but  rather  to  accustom  the  mind  to  work  sys- 
tematically with  a  purpose  which  from  the  be- 
ginning seeks  an  end.    By  these  means,  and  not 

9* 


102  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

Otherwise,  study  will  serve  the  purposes  of  dis- 
cipline. 

STUDYING   A    LESSON. 

The  subject  of  study  having  been  determined 
upon,  its  nature  and  scope  explained  to  the  class 
and  the  lesson  assigned,  the  immediate  work  in 
hand  for  the  class,  is  the  preparation  of  the  les- 
son for  recitation.  The  act  of  studying,  com- 
bined with  that  of  reciting,  should  result  in 
making  the  facts  and  the  principles  which  con- 
nect them,  as  set  forth  in  the  lesson,  the  prop- 
erty of  the  pupil.  Studying  the  lesson  is  first 
in  order.  It  is  assumed  that  a  text-book,  with 
all  the  subjects  arranged  in  logical  order  and 
expressed  in  concise  and  plain  language,  is 
in  the  possession  of  each  pupil,  and  that  a  por- 
tion of  the  text  has  been  assigned  for  study. 
The  pupil  should  read  over  carefully  the  whole 
lesson,  so  as  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  its 
scope.  Each  point  should  then  be  taken  up 
and  attentively  considered.  The  mind  of  the 
student  should  be  undividedly  fixed  upon  each 
fact  and  circumstance  in  the  lesson,  and  these 
should  be,  one  after  the  other,  thoroughly  mas- 
tered, and,  finally,  all  should  be  connected  in 
the  mind  in  their  natural  order,  v  Thus  will  be 
generated  the  power  to  express,  in  the  pupil's 
own  language,  the  gist  of  the  subject  under  con- 


MANAGEMENT.  IO3 

sideration.  If  the  attempt  be  made  to  extract 
tne  meaniiig  of  the  lesson  by  simply  reading 
over  and  re-reading,  and  endeavoring  to  con- 
template the  whole  by  a  single  effort,  the  result 
will  be  failure. 

Occasionally  pupils  are  possessed  of  such 
aptness  of  comprehension  that  they  acquire 
knowledge  with  little  effort,  but  the  great  ma- 
jority must  labor  systematically  and  patiently,  in 
order  thoroughly  to  comprehend  the  truths  set 
forth  in  the  text.  The  method,  therefore,  here 
recommended,  is — 

1st.  View  the  whole  subject. 

2d.  Take  up  item  by  item  and  master  each 
distinct  and  separate  fact. 

3d.  Grasp  the  connecting  principles,  which 
combine  these  facts,  by  contemplating  them  in 
the  order  in  which  they  are  set  down  in  the  text- 
book. 

4th.  Give  expression  to  what  has  been  learned. 

This  done,  the  pupil  is  prepared  for  the  red- 
tation.  The  subject  may  then  be  laid  aside,  and 
another  lesson  in  another  branch  of  learning 
may  be  taken  up  and  treated  in  a  similar  man- 
ner. 

In  no  case  should  a  pupil  sit  down  to  the 
study  of  several  lessons  without  having  first  defi- 
nitely arranged,  In  what  order  they  shall  be  tak^  ; 
up,  and  what  time  shall  be  devoted  to  the  study 


104  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

of  each.  The  same  order  should  be  observed 
daily,  without  variance  from  a  written  time-table 
previously  prepared  and  kept  convenient  for 
reference. 

The  student  who  studies  a  lesson  only  enough 
to  obtain  a  general  and  superficial  idea  of  its 
principles,  and  then  takes  up  a  second  and  a 
third  and  treats  them  in  the  same  way,  will 
never  acquire  definite  knowledge  on  any  sub- 
ject, and  will  grow  up  into  habits  of  hesitation 
in  speech,  uncertainty  in  thought  and  inefficien- 
cy in  action.  Thorough  comprehension  gives 
directness  and  clearness  of  expression.  Uncer- 
tainty of  knowledge  gives  hesitation  and  confu- 
sion of  expression.  A  teacher  observant  of  this 
principle  will  detect,  in  the  utterances  of  the 
pupils  at  recitation,  whether  the  subject  of  the 
lesson  is  comprehended. 

USES   OF    RECITATION. 

The  recitation  exercise  serves  two  purposes: 
I  St.  It  discovers  to  the  teacher  whether  the 
subject  under  consideration  is  comprehended  by 
the  members  of  the  class. 

2d.  It  fixes  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil  more  per- 
manently all  the  knowledge  evolved  in  the  study 
of  the  text. 


MANAGEMENT,  I05 

ON    CONDUCTING   RECITATIONS. 

A  teacher,  who  is  competent  for  the  post  he 
occupies,  will  not  permit  the  recitation  exercise 
to  be  one  in  which  the  pupils  simply  recite  what 
they  have  learned,  but  he  will  enlarge  on  the 
subject  by  noting  collateral  facts,  and  by  citing 
applications  and  uses  of  the  knowledge  acquired 
by  the  class.  Let  it  be  ever  kept  in  view,  that 
the  class-book  is  but  a  text-\iOo\L\  the  text  should 
be  suggestive  to  both  teacher  and  pupil.  By 
the  use  of  books  of  reference  and  comprehen- 
sive treatises  on  the  subject  of  the  text-book,  a 
teacher  will  be  enabled  to  obtain  much  interest- 
ing matter  relating  to  the  subject  of  each  lesson, 
not  found  in  the  concise  treatises  in  the  hands 
of  the  pupils ;  from  this  full  store  he  can  draw, 
daily,  with  eminent  advantage  to  himself  and  to 
the  pupils  under  his  charge. 

What  has  elsewhere  been  said  may  be  re- 
peated with  emphasis  here,  that  no  effort  of  the 
teacher  will  conduce  so  much  to  good  govern- 
ment, to  establish  confidence  and  to  winning  the 
respect  of  the  school  and  of  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood, as  this  ability  to  enlarge  upon  every  theme 
called  up  in  recitation.  A  teacher,  content  to 
sit  in  his  chair  and  hear  the  recitation  of  the 
class,  without  making  such  intelligent  comment 
as  will  enlarge  the  store  of  knowledge  and  fix 


I06  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

it  more  durably  in  the  minds  of  the  pupils,  is 
utterly  unfit  for  his  position.  This  is  true  of 
teachers  in  mixed  schools,  in  graded  schools,  in 
high  schools,  and  in  academies,  colleges  and 
universities.  For,  whether  the  recitation  be  in 
the  history  of  the  United  States  in  a  country 
school,  or  whether  it  be  in  chemistry  at  the 
academy,  or  in  Greek  verse  at  the  college,  a 
teacher,  who  mechanically  and  passively  listens 
to  what  pupils  have  to  say,  simply  correcting 
dates  in  history  and  facts  in  chemistry,  or  con- 
struction in  Greek,  is  making  the  very  worst 
use  of  the  pupil's  time.  If  he  has  no  collateral, 
corroborative  or  strengthening  matter  to  pre- 
sent, he  lacks  the  requisite  ability  to  fill  the 
position  he  is  occupying.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  is  possessed  of  such  matter  and  fails  to  bring 
it  forward,  he  is  guilty  of  criminal  neglect,  and 
should  be  summarily  dismissed  from  the  place 
he  so  badly  fills. 

In  the  study  of  the  lesson,  the  chief  efifort 
rests  with  the  student,  but  in  the  recitation  the 
onus  is  upon  the  teacher.  As  soon  as  a  pupil 
shall  have  gone  far  enough  in  the  recitation  to 
satisfy  the  teacher,  that  the  subject  has  been 
carefully  studied  and  the  matter  set  forth  in  the 
text  fully  mastered,  it  becomes  his  duty  to  en- 
large upon  the  text.  Thus  the  recitation  will 
always  be  looked  forward  to  by  the  pupil  as  an 


MANA  GEMENT.  1 0/ 

agreeable  and  profitable  exercise.  Too  often 
now,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  illy-conceived 
methods,  a  pupil  approaches  a  recitation  with 
hesitation  and  fear.  He  receives  no  benefit ;  no 
new  facts  are  brought  out,  and  his  knowledge 
is  not  enlarged ;  he  is  simply  puzzled,  annoyed 
and  vexed  by  hard  questions,  invented  by  stupid 
authors  and  asked  by  incompetent  teachers. 

The  school  authorities  and  the  Normal  School 
faculties  should  see  that  this  method  is  abol- 
ished and  the  more  reasonable  one,  as  ex- 
plained above,  substituted. 

FORCIBLE    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

In  every  school  many  forcible  illustrations 
may  be  improvised  by  the  teacher.  In  the  study 
of  botany,  plants  and  vegetables  are  at  hand, 
and  may  be  exhibited  to  the  class  for  demon- 
stration of  facts.  In  the  study  of  anatomy  and 
physiology,  bones,  muscles,  joints  and  other  parts 
of  animals  slaughtered  in  the  neighborhood  may 
be  exhibited.  For  the  class  in  geology,  rocks 
from  different  formations  may  be  found  conve- 
nient to  almost  every  schoolhouse.  In  natural 
philosophy,  many  simple  contrivances  with  ball, 
string,  levers,  springs  and  the  like  may  be  con- 
structed by  the  ingenious  teacher.  In  history, 
many  incidents  and  interesting  stories,  suggest- 
ed by  the  text,  may  be  related  for  the  instruction 


I08  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

of  the  class.  Thus,  by  devices  innumerable,  an 
active,  intelligent  teacher  will,  day  after  day, 
enlarge  upon  the  text,  bringing  stores  of  know- 
ledge to  his  class,  for  which  he  will  be  repaid  an 
hundredfold  in  the  affections  of  his  pupils  and 
in  the  enlarged  respect  and  good-will  of  the 
patrons  of  his  school. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

NATIONAL   PECULIARITIES. 

HE  population  of  the  United  States 
comprises  English,  German,  French, 
Italian,  Spanish,  Swedish,  Norwegians, 
Dutch,  Irish,  Scotch  and  Welsh  peo- 
ple. From  the  period  of  the  early  settlements 
in  America  to  the  present,  emigrants  have  been 
received  from  all  of  the  different  nations  of  the 
world.  The  nations  of  Europe  have  furnished 
very  considerable  contributions  to  the  popula- 
tions of  most  of  the  States.  These  have  brought 
with  them  their  peculiarities  of  life  and  language, 
and  these  peculiarities  have  impressed  them- 
selves upon  the  institutions  of  the  United  States. 
Frequently  public-school  authorities  provide 
for  teaching  school  in  foreign  languages.  In 
some  places,  in  addition  to  the  English  schools, 
there  are  also  established  German  schools, 
French  schools,  Swede  schools,  Dutch  schools 


10 


109 


no  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

or  Welsh  schools.  In  those  places  where  the 
people  of  any  nation  or  country  have  settled  in 
close  communities,  schools  in  their  own  lan- 
guages are  necessary,  but  in  a  country  where  all 
business,  public  and  private,  is  transacted  in  the 
English  language,  the  teaching  in  the  public 
schools  should  be  in  that  language. 

Families  coming  from  Germany  or  from 
France,  Piolland,  Sweden  or  Norway,  experi- 
ence great  inconvenience  in  the  transaction  of 
business  in  America,  and  it  would  seem  to  be 
exceedingly  short-sighted  to  establish  schools  so 
as  to  perpetuate  that  inconvenience,  by  trans- 
mitting it  to  the  children,  growing  up  in  an  Eng- 
lish-speaking country.  A  much  wiser  course 
would  be  to  require  the  children  to  attend  the 
English  schools,  and  to  there  learn  the  use  of 
the  language  that  is  prevalent  in  the  land  of 
their  adoption. 

When  the  children  of  foreign  parentage  are 
found  in  the  public  schools,  the  teacher  has  im- 
posed upon  him  a  peculiar  task.  He  must  cor- 
rect the  faulty  articulation  of  those  who  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  speaking  a  foreign  language, 
and  bring  such  pupils  to  accustom  their  organs 
of  speech  to  the  enunciation  of  the  elementary 
sounds  of  the  English  language.  This  will  be 
accomplished  by  systematic  and  often-repeated 
exercises. 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  Ill 


FOREIGNERS    AND    ENGLISH    ARTICULATION. 

The  most  successful  method  known  to  prac- 
tical teachers,  by  which  to  overcome  the  pecu- 
liarities of  children  accustomed  to  speak  foreign 
languages,  is  to  drill  thoroughly  in  the  element- 
ary sounds.  In  order  to  apply  this  method 
effectually,  it  will  be  necessary  to  study  the  cor- 
rect use  of  the  organs  of  speech,  and  classify  the 
elementary  sounds  with  reference  to  the  organs 
employed  in  giving  them  utterance.  Thus,  a 
teacher  will  be  able  to  show  clearly  the  differ- 
ence between  the  manner  of  using  these  organs 
in  a  faulty  and  in  a  correct  enunciation.  For 
example,  a  German  boy,  in  all  probability,  will 
pronounce  the  word  thing,  sing.  The  difference 
is  in  the  articulation  of  the  first  elementary 
sound  in  the  word.  It  is  the  difference  between 
the  sound  of  th  and  s.  The  pupil  must  be  taught 
to  understand  that,  in  producing  the  sound  of  Sy 
he  places  the  tip  of  his  tongue  against  the  roof 
of  his  mouth,  that  in  uttering  the  sound  of  th,  he 
places  his  tongue  between  his  teeth.  If,  there- 
fore, when  he  attempts  to  pronounce  the  word 
thing,  he  begins  by  placing  the  tip  of  his  tongue 
between  his  teeth,  it  will  be  impossible  for  him 
to  utter  it  in  the  s  sound,  as  sing. 

It  is  also  very  common  for  children  born  of 
foreie^n  parentsjtQ=HeQe|3und  the  sounds  repre- 

^     OF  THE 

iiMivPRSlTY 


112  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

sented  by  w  and  v.  If  the  pupil  distinguishes 
how  differently  the  organs  of  speech  are  used 
in  the  utterance  of  these  sounds,  he  will  have 
no  difficulty  in  giving  them  correct  utterance. 
Thus,  in  producing  the  sound  oiw,  the  lips  pro- 
ject as  they  do  in  uttering  the  sound  of  oo ; 
whereas,  in  giving  utterance  to  the  sound  re- 
presented by  V,  the  upper  teeth  are  brought 
in  a  gentle  pressure  upon  the  lower  lip ;  with 
the  lip  and  teeth  thus  brought  together  it  is 
impossible  to  produce  the  sound  represented 
by  w. 

This  subject  will  be  treated  of  more  at  length 
in  connection  with  the  instructions  in  the  ele- 
mentary sounds.  The  object  of  introducing  so 
much  of  it  here  is  to  enforce  the  statement  that, 
by  teaching  the  proper  use  of  the  organs  of 
speech  in  the  enunciation  of  sounds  used  in  the 
English  language,  the  child  embarrassed  by 
faulty  pronunciation  will  be  enabled  most  speed- 
ily to  overcome  the  force  of  habit.  This  will  re- 
quire perseverance  on  the  part  of  both  teacher 
and  pupil,  but  the  effect  will  soon  be  observed, 
and  the  final  result  will  be,  that  those  children 
who,  because  of  the  habits  of  childhood,  were 
compelled  to  make  special  efforts  to  drill  in  the 
elementary  sounds,  will  grow  up  to  be  more 
perfect  in  their  articulation  and  pronunciation 
of  the  language,  than  those  who  were,  at  the  be- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  II3 

ginning,  esteemed   their  more  fortunate   asso- 
ciates. 

ELOCUTION. 

Elocution,  as  here  appHed,  includes  the  learn- 
ing of  the  Alphabet,  Spelling,  Reading  and  Dec- 
lamation. It  is  considered  as  first  among  the 
branches  of  learning  to  be  taught  in  the  public 
schools,  chiefly  for  the  reason,  that  it  is  always 
first  in  order,  and  will  doubtless  remain  so, 
among  those  studies  that  are  taught  from  books. 
The  subdivisions  will  be  taken  up  in  the  order 
named. 

METHODS   OF   TEACHING   THE   ALPHABET. 

Two  methods  for  teaching  the  alphabet  are  In 
general  use.  One  is  called  the  Letter  Method 
and  the  other  the  Word  Method. 

The  Letter  Method  is  that  in  which  the  twenty- 
six  letters  of  the  alphabet  are  taught  separately, 
one  after  the  other. 

The  Word  Method  is  that  in  which  pupils  are 
first  taught  to  recognize  and  pronounce  words ; 
these,  by  analysis,  are  separated  into  their  ele- 
ments, and  these  elements  being  letters,  a  child 
is  taught  to  distinguish  them  from  each  other, 
and  to  name  them. 

In  the  Letter  Method,  the  alphabet  may  be 
taught  by  means  of  a  number  of  devices. 

I  St.  Teaching  the  Alphabet  from  a  Book, — In 
10*  H 


114  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

times  past  it  was  almost  a  universal  practice  to 
teach  the  Alphabet  to  children  singly.  A  child 
was  called  up  with  a  primer  or  A-B-C  book  in 
hand,  and  the  teacher,  pointing  to  the  letters  be- 
ginning at  a  and  ending  with  z,  would  name  the 
letter  and  require  the  child  to  repeat  it  after  him  ; 
or,  beginning  at  the  letter  ^,  the  Alphabet  was 
"  said  backward  "  to  a.  As  the  child  progressed  in 
these  exercises,  the  teacher  would  point  to  some 
one  letter  In  the  Alphabet  and  require  the  child 
to  name  it ;  or,  varying  the  exercises,  a  child 
would  be  required  to  point  to  some  letter  which 
the  teacher  named,  as  <?,  x,  gy  w.  In  some 
schools  this  practice  still  obtains.  It  is  unques- 
tionably the  most  severe  and  uninteresting  to 
the  child  of  all  the  methods  yet  devised.  It 
requires  the  teacher  to  give  his  whole  attention 
to  each  child  separately.  There  can  be  no  clas- 
sification, and,  consequently,  no  rivalry,  because 
there  Is  no  class.  All  the  advantages  of  classi- 
fication are  lost.  There  can  be  no  interest  ex- 
cited in  the  minds  of  the  pupils.  The  exercise 
is  arbitrary,  and  even  after  the  child  shall  have 
learned  to  name  the  twenty-six  letters  of  the 
English  alphabet  It  will  generally  be  so  utterly 
Ignorant  of  the  use  of  this  learning  that  it  is 
very  likely  to  question  "whether  it  Is  worth 
while  to  endure  so  much  in  order  to  learn  so 
litde." 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  II5 

It  IS  possible  to  so  vary  the  exercises  as  to 
greatly  improve  on  the  system  of  saying  the  A 
B  C  forward  and  backward,  as  was  formerly  the 
general  practice.  The  successful  teacher  will, 
by  questions  and  little  combinations,  greatly 
facilitate  the  labors  of  the  child  in  its  efforts  to 
memorize  these  twenty-six  arbitrary  characters. 
It  will  be  wiser,  however,  to  abandon  this  method 
altogether,  and  to  adopt  one  that  is  more  prac- 
tical in  its  application  and  fruitful  in  its  results. 

2d.  Teaching  the  Alphabet  from  Charts. — A 
series  of  Charts,  varying  in  the  size  of  the  letters 
printed  on  them  and  in  the  simplicity  of  combi- 
nations, may  be  used  with  great  advantage  in 
teaching  the  Alphabet.  Chart  No.  i  should 
contain  the  twenty-six  letters  of  the  Alphabet 
printed  in  large  plain  type.  The  margins  of 
this  Chart  should  be  occupied  by  smaller  letters, 
promiscuously  arranged,  so  that  several  impres- 
sions of  each  letter  might  be  found  on  the  Chart. 
The  teacher  may  now  be  supposed  to  have  his 
A-B-C  class  before  him  for  recitation.  The 
Chart  is  so  suspended  as  to  be  easily  seen  by 
each  member  of  the  class.  He  points  to  some 
one  of  the  large  letters  and  pronounces  its  name. 
At  first,  one  of  the  plain,  distinct  letters,  as  O, 
A  or  I,  should  be  selected.  "This  is  A;"  let 
the  class  repeat  the  name  of  the  letter  after  the 
teacher.     If  the  teacher  will  draw  in  chalk  on 


Il6  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

the  blackboard  the  letter  A,  and  describe  its 
parts  so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  pupils 
to  its  construction,  both  the  form  and  the  name 
of  the  letter  will  be  more  rapidly  and  durably 
impressed  upon  the  mind.  After  this  form  has 
been  made  familiar,  the  teacher  should  ask  of 
the  class,  "Can  you  find  another  A  on  the  Chart?" 
Some  of  the  pupils  will  find  one,  some  two  and 
others  three  or  four,  and  thus  rivalry  is  at  once 
excited,  and  the  attention  of  the  whole  class 
directed  to  the  Chart. 

The  use  of  the  blackboard  in  connection 
with  the  Chart  will  increase  the  interest  in  and 
the  force  of  the  instruction  given.  As  the  class 
progresses  the  teacher  may  leave  the  letter 
drawn  on  the  blackboard  half  finished  and  re- 
quire the  pupils  to  complete  it,  or  he  may  draw 
a  faulty  letter  and  require  the  pupils  to  state 
the  difference  between  it  and  the  correct  form 
on  the  Chart. 

Chart  No,  2  should  contain  simple  combina- 
tions of  the  letters  of  the  Alphabet,  in  such 
manner  as  to  spell  the  names  of  familiar  objects, 

as  AX,  ox,  CAT,  RAT,  DOG,  COW,  FORK,  HORSE.     The 

number  of  these  may  be  increased  by  the  use 
of  the  blackboard.  The  class  can  be  exercised 
in  naming  the  letters  found  in  these  combina- 
tions, and  in  pronouncing  the  words  thus 
formed.     A  familiar  talk  respecting  the  objects 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  11/ 

represented  by  these  words  will  interest  the 
pupils  in  the  spelling  of  their  names.  On  this 
Chart  there  must  also  be  such  combinations  as 
will  aid  the  pupil  in  learning  readily,  that  differ- 
ent sounds  are  represented  by  the  same  letter. 
Thus,  a  in  the  word  cat  has  one  sound,  and  in 
the  word  bale  it  has  another  sound;  o  in  the  word 
ox  has  one  sound,  and  in  the  word  old  it  has 
another  sound ;  that  i  has  one  sound  in  bite,  and 
another  in  lip.  These,  it  is  true,  are,  to  the 
child,  arbitrary  distinctions,  but  they  will  soon 
be  learned  by  force  of  habit  and  retained  upon 
the  very  impressible  memory  of  childhood. 

Chart  No.  3  can  be  printed  in  smaller  type, 
and  may  contain  longer  words.  These  should 
be  arranged  with  reference  to  the  sound  of  the 
vowels  used. 

Chart  No.  4  should  be  arranged  for  drill  on 
the  elementary  sounds  of  both  vowels  and  con- 
sonants. This  chart  may  be  used  with  profit 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  elocutionary 
training  in  the  school,  from  the  A-B-C  class  to 
the  classes  in  declamation  and  composition. 
Teachers  possessing  different  degrees  of  skill 
and  genius  for  teaching,  will  vary  the  exercises 
on  these  Charts  in  almost  innumerable  ways, 
with  profit  to  their  classes.  The  direction  here 
is  simply,  that  no  teacher  should  be  content  to 
hear  the  same  lessons  repeatedly,  without  varia- 


Il8  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

tion ;  he  should  exercise  his  ingenuity  to  vary 
the  instruction  so  as  to  give  new  interest  and 
to  create  expectation  for  every  recitation. 

TEACHING  THE  ALPHABET  WITH  LETTER  BLOCKS. 

The  apparatus  for  teaching  the  Alphabet  from 
blocks  consists  of  twenty-six,  or  more  blocks 
containing  letters  painted  or  pasted  on  them 
of  such  size  as  to  be  easily  distinguished.  Each 
pupil  should  possess  a  set  of  these  blocks,  and 
each  set  of  blocks  should  contain  the  complete 
Alphabet,  with  duplicates  of  the  vowels.  In 
order  to  conduct  a  recitation  with  blocks,  the 
class  should  be  arranged  around  a  table  of  con- 
venient height  for  the  children  when  standing. 
The  pupils  should  place  their  blocks  before 
them  on  the  table,  and  the  teacher,  having  a 
set  for  his  own  use,  may  take  a  block  in  his 
hand  and  hold  it  in  a  position  that  all  the  class 
can  see  it ;  he  will  give  the  name  of  the  letter 
on  it,  and  then  require  the  pupils  to  find  the 
same  letter  in  their  respective  sets.  Thus  seve- 
ral of  the  leading  letters  will  be  made  familiar 
in  form  and  name.  The  teacher  may  ask  a 
pupil  to  find  one  of  these  letters,  as  O ;  another 
may  find  A ;  another  X ;  another  T;  and  so  on. 
As  a  little  more  progress  is  made  by  repeating 
these  exercises,  which  should  be  duly  varied 
every   day,  these   letters  can  be  combined   in 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION^,  II9 

words  containing  two  or  three  letters  each. 
Thus  the  teacher  may  take  in  his  hand  the  three 
letters,  B,  O,  Y,  or  he  may  draw  these  three 
letters  on  the  blackboard  and  then  require  each 
member  of  the  class  to  select  them  from  the 
blocks.  That  these  three  letters  combined  spell 
the  word  boy  should  be  fully  explained,  and  so 
enforced  that  the  children  will  understand  it. 
Other  similar  combinations  may  be  formed,  and 
thus  the  children,  as  it  were  in  a  game  of  play, 
will,  with  eagerness  and  delight,  shuffle  their 
blocks  into  words  that  will  become  familiar. 

If  the  teacher  will  write  on  the  blackboard 
the  names  of  animals  or  other  familiar  objects, 
the  pupils  will  rapidly  select  from  their  blocks 
letters  corresponding  to  those  on  the  black- 
board, and  will  thus  construct  words.  In  like 
manner,  by  the  use  of  blocks,  children  may  be 
taught  to  count  and  to  distinguish  the  forms  of 
numerals. 

TEACHING  THE  ALPHABET  ON  SLATE  AND  BLACK- 
BOARD. 

Another,  and  in  some  respects  the  most  suc- 
cessful, method  of  teaching  the  Alphabet,  is  to 
require  every  child  to  have  a  small  slate  and  pen- 
cil. Pupils  will,  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  ac- 
quire the  ability  to  draw  the  letters  of  the  Alpha- 
bet, and  to  print  words,   No  other  exercise  will  so 


120  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

distinctly  and  durably  fix  in  the  mind  the  form  of 
the  letters  as  that  of  drawing  them.  The  letter 
to  be  drawn  by  the  children,  in  their  seats,  should 
be  printed  upon  the  blackboard  by  the  teacher, 
or,  what  is  better,  the  teacher  should  have  a  set 
of  cards,  each  having  on  it  a  large  letter;  one  of 
these  can  be  so  placed  that  all  the  children  en- 
gaged in  the  exercise  can  distinctly  see  it.  The 
letters  most  simple  in  form,  as  I,  H,  A,  X,  O, 
should  be  taken  up  first.  Combinations  of  the 
simple  letters  can  be  made,  and  words  spelled 
on  the  slates  by  the  children,  before  the  forma- 
tion of  letters  more  complicated  in  form  is 
undertaken.  The  slate  and  pencil  may  be  used, 
not  only  to  teach  the  Alphabet,  but  also  to  teach 
drawing,  and  to  relieve  in  a  pleasant  manner  the 
somewhat  irksome  duties  of  a  child  in  school, 
who,  too  often,  is  required  to  sit  in  quiet  idleness 
for  an  hour  or  more,  without  rest  or  change,  and 
is  then  called  up  for  a  ^\^  minutes'  recitation  to 
say  the  ABC. 

The  time  was  when  children,  who  sketched 
horses,  articles  of  school-furniture,  doll-babies, 
chairs  and  animals  on  their  slates,  were  punished 
for  misconduct.  Such  barbarism  has  been  ban- 
ished from  all  properly-conducted  schools,  and 
the  propensities  of  childhood  are  taken  advan- 
tage of,  both  for  matters  of  discipline  in  refer- 
ence to  order  and  in  teaching  the  primary  les- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  121 

sons  in  school.  This  is  a  much  more  reason- 
able course,  and  should  be  everywhere  adopted. 
Children  with  slates  and  pencils  in  their  posses 
sion  are  rarely  idle  or  mischievous  if  the  teacher, 
by  sketches  on  the  blackboard,  or  by  charts  con- 
taining- the  letters  of  the  alphabet  and  simple 
lessons  in  drawing,  will  furnish  exercise  for  the 
ingenuit)^  and  opportunity  for  the  amusement 
of  the  little  ones,  who  may  thus  be  educated 
without  violence. 

Vastly  better  than  a  rigid  adherence  to  any 
one  of  these  methods  is  such  a  combination  of 
all  of  them  as  will  give  variety  and  interest  even 
to  the  A-B-C  class.  Books,  charts,  blocks, 
slates  and  the  blackboard  should  all  be  used  to 
amuse  and  interest  the  children,  for  that  learn- 
ing, the  acquisition  of  which  is  made  attractive 
by  numerous  pleasant  devices,  is  always  most 
profitable  to  the  young. 

THE    WORD    METHOD. 

By  observation  children  become  familiar  with 
numerous  objects,  and  by  imitation  they  acquire 
a  knowledge  of  the  names  of  these  objects. 
To  a  very  considerable  extent  children  acquire 
the  use  of  language  by  imitation.  The  word 
method  of  teaching  the  alphabet  is  based  upon 
this  circumstance.  Familiar  objects,  or  pictures 
of  such  objects,  are  placed  before  the  child,  and 
11 


122  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

the  name  drawn  upon  the  blackboard,  or  printed 
on  a  chart  or  in  a  book,  is  pointed  out.  Thus 
the  word  method  may  be  taught  by  the  use  of 
the  blackboard,  from  charts  or  from  books. 

TEACHING  THE  ALPHABET  FROM  THE  BLACKBOARD. 

In  using  the  blackboard  for  giving  instruction 
to  a  class  in  the  Alphabet  by  the  Word  Method, 
the  teacher  takes  in  his  hand  a  familiar  object, 
as  a  HAT.  He  prints  in  plain  letters  the  name 
of  the  object  on  the  blackboard,  and  the  children 
are  taught  to  associate  that  word  with  the  ob- 
ject. The  word  is  composed  of  three  parts ; 
these  parts  the  teacher  may  write  separately 
upon  the  board.  The  first  of  these  elements 
the  teacher  tells  the  class  is  named  h,  the  second 
is  named  a,  and  the  third  is  named  t — that  is, 
one  H,  one  A  and  one  t,  placed  in  the  order  in 
which  they  are  written  on  the  board,  make  the 
word  which  is  pronounced  hat.  This  fact,  by 
the  aid  of  numerous  illustrations,  must  be  made 
clear  to  the  class. 

The  teacher  may  take  a  small  boy  from  the 
class  and  place  him  on  the  platform  by  the 
blackboard,  and  write  on  the  bo'ard,  boy.  He 
says  to  the  class,  "  This  word  on  the  blackboard 
is  BOY."  The  class  is  made  to  associate  the 
word  and  the  object  with  each  other.  The  word 
is  then    decomposed    into  its   letters,  and  the 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 23 

names  of  the  letters  are  given  and  repeated  un- 
til they  will  readily  be  remembered  by  the  class. 
In  like  manner  a  top,  a  ball,  a  kite,  a  book  and 
other  objects  may  be  associated  with  the  words 
that  stand  for  them,  and  the  several  words  may 
be  separated  into  their  elements,  and  the  names 
of  the  letters  may  be  learned  by  the  class.  The 
object  may  be  removed  and  the  words  remain 
on  the  board.  The  class  should  then  be  re- 
quired to  pronounce  the  words,  and  also  to 
name  the  letters  that  compose  them.  These 
exercises  may  be  extended  and  varied  at  the 
will  of  the  teacher  as  necessity  may  require. 

TEACHING   THE   ALPHABET   BY  THE   USE  OF  CHARTS. 

The  teacher  is  supposed  to  be  provided  with 
several  Charts. 

Chart  No.  i  should  contain  pictures  of  the 
most  familiar  animals,  and  other  objects  with 
short  names,  such  as  Cat,  Dog,  Hen,  Robin, 
Horse,  Pig,  Cow,  Hat,  Chain,  Top,  Kite,  and 
such  other  illustrations  as  the  size  of  the  Chart 
will  admit  of.  The  pictures  should  be  suffi- 
ciently large  and  distinct  to  be  readily  distin- 
guished, and  the  name  of  each  should  be 
printed  beneath  it  in  large  plain  letters.  The 
children  in  the  A-B-C  class  must  now  be  in- 
structed to  associate  these  pictures  and  these 
names  with  the  animals,  or  objects  they  repre- 


124  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

sent.  They  must  be  taught  that  both  picture 
and  word  represent  the  same  thing.  The  words 
may  then  be  separated  and  each  letter  considered 
by  itself,  and  the  name  of  each  committed  to 
memory.  The  children  will  soon  learn  that  the 
word  and  the  picture,  CAT,  represent  a  familiar 
animal,  and  that  the  word  is  composed  of  C,  A, 
T.  On  the  margin  of  this  card  the  words  should 
be  printed  in  columns,  apart  from  the  pictures, 
and  the  children  should  be  required  to  select 
the  word  belonging  to  each  picture,  to  pro- 
nounce it  and  to  name  the  letters  that  com- 
pose it. 

Chart  No.  2  should  be  an  advance  on  No.  i — 
that  is,  animals  and  objects  having  longer  names 
may  be  placed  on  it.  In  all  other  respects  it  is 
the  same  as  No.  \\  and  the  manner  of  using  it 
is  also  the  same. 

Chart  No.  3  may  introduce  words  not  repre- 
senting animals,  as  verbs,  adjectives,  preposi- 
tions and  words  that  may  be  used  in  construct- 
ing short  sentences.  Pictures  may  be  drawn  to 
represent  the  idea  set  forth  in  the  sentence,  as, 
The  boy  has  a  kite.  Boys  play  ball.  Girls 
jump  the  rope.  Cows  eat  grass.  This  idea 
may  be  enlarged  upon  by  the  use  of  the  black- 
board. 

Chart  No.  4  should  introduce  the  distinction 
in  the  elementary  sounds    represented  by  the 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 25 

letters,  and  should  be  so  constructed  as  to  be 
convenient  for  drilling  the  class  in  the  elements 
in  a  manner  similar  to  that  described  under  the 
Letter  Method  of  teaching  the  Alphabet  from 
charts. 

TEACHING   THE   ALPHABET   FROM    BOOKS. 

To  teach  the  Alphabet  in  the  Word  Method 
from  books,  each  member  of  the  class  should 
possess  an  illustrated  primer,  in  which  there  are 
numerous  pictures  of  animals  and  familiar 
objects,  similar  to  those  described  on  Charts 
Nos.  I  and  2.  All  who  are  beginning  to  learn 
the  Alphabet  should  be  arranged  in  a  class  and 
brought  before  the  teacher  at  the  same  time. 
Some  picture  should  be  selected  for  the  lesson, 
and  the  word  and  the  picture  should  be  associ- 
ated, so  that  the  children  will  understand  that 
both  represent  the  same  thing,  and  that  in 
naming  the  picture  they  are  pronouncing  the 
word.  If  the  picture  is  that  of  an  OX,  let 
the  idea  be  enforced  that  the  picture  and  the 
little  word  of  two  letters  represent  the  animal. 
The  word  may  be  drawn  on  the  blackboard, 
and  the  children  will  recognize  it  there,  as  the 
same  as  that  found  in  the  book.  So  with  the 
names  of  other  objects  pictured  in  the  primer; 
they  should  be  transferred  to  the  blackboard  by 
the  teacher,  so  that  the  children  may  become 
11* 


126  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

accustomed  to  recognize  the  name  apart  from 
the  picture. 

The  teacher  may  assign  one  or  more  of  the 
pictures  in  the  book  for  a  lesson,  and  instruct 
the  children  to  print  the  name  on  the  slate,  and 
if  they  will  also  draw  the  picture  of  the  object, 
or  animal,  on  the  slate,  it  is  still  better.  Indeed, 
no  more  agreeable  or  profitable  exercise  could 
be  devised  for  the  period  of  Alphabet  studying, 
than  that  of  transferring  to  the  slate  the  pictures 
that  are  found  in  the  child's  primer. 

SLATES    FOR   CHILDREN. 

Whatever  method  may  be  adopted,  and  what- 
ever the  mode  of  procedure  under  the  method, 
the  use  of  the  slate,  by  the  children  studying  the 
Alphabet,  is  insisted  upon  as  indispensable  to 
good  order  in  school  and  rapid  progress  in  acquir- 
ing a  knowledge  of  the  forms,  names,  sounds  and 
uses  of  the  letters  of  the  Alphabet.  By  numer- 
ous simple  lessons  from  the  blackboard,  from 
charts  or  from  books,  the  teacher  may  find  busi- 
ness for  the  little  fingers,  amusement  for  the  lit- 
tle brains  and  pleasure  for  the  little  hearts,  that 
would  otherwise  be  in  mischief,  idleness  or  pain. 
Let  it,  therefore,  be  set  down  as  one  of  the  indis- 
pensable requisites  in  an  infant  class,  that  every 
member  shall  possess  a  slate  and  pencil,  and  in 
the  use  of  these  give  the  largest  liberty.     That 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  12/ 

teacher,  who  so  combines  parts  of  all  these  meth- 
ods and  devices,  and  adapts  them  to  the  neces- 
sities of  the  cases  before  him,  will  be  most  suc- 
cessful 

ORTHOGRAPHY. 

There  are  two  general  methods  of  teaching 
spelling.  These  arise  from  the  nature  of  the 
circumstances  presented,  and  the  object  to  be 
attained.  First,  there  is  given  the  form  of  words, 
and  from  these  the  pupil  is  required  to  obtain 
the  pronunciation,  or,  secondly,  the  pronunciation 
may  be  given  and  the  pupil  required  to  produce 
the  form. 

SPELLING   FROM    SIGHT. 

The  first  method  here  considered  Is  that  In 
which  the  pupil  analyses  the  word  into  Its  ele- 
mentary sounds  for  purposes  of  pronunciation. 
This  Is  the  usual  method  pursued  in  the  schools. 
The  primer,  the  spelling-book,  the  reader  and 
charts  supply  lists  of  words.  The  pronunciation 
of  these  is  to  be  learned  by  naming  the  letters 
composing  each  syllable,  pronouncing  the  sylla- 
ble, and  then  uniting  the  sounds  of  the  syllables 
into  the  whole  word.  Where  this  method  Is 
pursued,  pupils  should  be  required  to  spell  the 
words  by  first  naming  the  letters,  and  after  that 
to  spell  them  by  the  elementary  sounds.     A  free 


128  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

use  of  sound-Spelling  possesses  a  double  advan- 
tage: it  makes  the  pupil  familiar  with  the  sounds 
represented  by  the  letters,  and  it  trains  the 
organs  of  speech  to  give  a  clear  and  distinct 
utterance  of  each  sound.  Children  who  are 
thoroughly  drilled  in  this  manner  have  a  more 
distinct  articulation,  a  clearer  pronunciation  and 
read  with  more  ease,  fluency  and  elegance,  than 
those  who  have  not  been  thus  drilled.  The  old 
practice  of  saying  "spelling-lessons"  from  a 
spelling-book  possesses  but  little  advantage ;  it 
is  far  better  to  exercise  the  children  to  spell  the 
words  in  their  reading-lessons,  carrying  therp  at 
once  from  the  Alphabet  to  reading.  A  child 
should  not  be  permitted  to  attempt  to  read  a 
sentence  until  it  is  able  to  pronounce  every 
word  in  the  sentence  distinctly  and  promptly. 
Though  the  English  language  is  not  a  phonetic 
language,  in  the  sense  that  there  is  a  printed 
character  to  represent  every  sound,  neverthe- 
less, the  spelling  of  words  and  the  pronouncing 
of  syllables  apart  from  words,  assists  the  learner 
in  arriving  at  a  correct  pronunciation  of  the 
word.  Memory  and  the  force  of  habit  will  en- 
able pupils  to  pronounce  correctly  many  words, 
that  they  have  not  before  seen  or  heard.  The 
ability  to  separate  words  into  syllables  with 
facility  is  of  practical  use  in  writing  and  print- 
ing, and  is  knowledge,  therefore,  worth  obtain- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 29 

ing.  The  spelling  of  simple  words  used  in  the 
literature  of  the  first  and  second  readers  may- 
be successfully  taught  by  this  method — that  is, 
by  rising  from  the  sound  of  the  elements  to  the 
pronunciation  of  the  word. 

The  practice  of  requiring  pupils  to  close  their 
books  and  spell  the  words  as  pronounced  by  the 
teacher  is,  with  children,  more  an  act  of  memory 
than  an  operation  of  analysis.  If  a  strange  word 
is  pronounced,  that  the  children  have  not  before 
seen,  they  will  in  all  probability  fail  to  spell  it, 
unless  it  is  so  analogous  to  what  is  familiar,  that 
they  may  readily  guess  the  unknown  by  its  sim- 
ilarity to  the  known.  As  soon  as  pupils  are 
able  to  write  with  pencil  or  pen,  this  method  of 
spelling  should  be  abandoned. 

SPELLING   FROM    PERCEPTION. 

The  second  method  of  teaching  spelling  is 
here  termed  spelling  from  perception.  A  word 
is  presented  to  the  mind,  either  through  the 
sense  of  hearing,  or  it  is  called  up  in  a  train  of 
thought.  The  mind  perceives  the  word,  and 
this  word  is  to  be  transferred  into  a  written  or 
printed  form  ;  by  far  the  best  practice,  because 
it  is  logical,  is  to  spell  in  writing. 

From  Dictation. — A  profitable  exercise  in 
spelling  is  as  follows:  The  class  is  arranged 
before  the  teacher,  who  reads  from  a  book  a 

I 


130  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

few  sentences,  which  each  member  of  the  class 
is  required  to  write  upon  a  slate,  or,  what  is  still 
better,  upon  paper,  conveniently  arranged  for 
this  purpose.  After  a  sufficient  number  of 
words  or  sentences  for  the  lesson  shall  have 
been  written,  the  teacher  may  require  some 
member  of  the  class  to  spell  the  words  in  the 
first  sentence ;  all  who  do  not  agree  with  the 
spelling  of  this  pupil  may  signify  it  by  raising 
a  finger,  and  the  teacher  may  require  those,  who 
dissent  from  the  spelling,  to  spell  the  word  as 
they  have  written  it  on  the  slate  or  paper. 
Other  pupils  may  be  required  to  read  other 
sentences  until  the  whole  lesson  has  been  gone 
over  and  corrected. 

This  exercise  may  be  varied  by  taking  the 
slips  of  paper  upon  which  the  members  of  the 
class  have  written  and  exchanging  them,  so 
that  no  pupil  shall  have  in  his  hand  his  own 
writing;  each  may  be  required  to  state,  after 
time  has  been  given  for  inspection,  whether  all 
the  words  on  the  slip  of  paper  in  his  hand  are 
spelled  correctly,  and  if  any  are  incorrectly 
spelled,  the  pupil,  who  has  detected  the  error, 
should  be  required  to  point  it  out  and  correct 
it.  This  exercise  is  similar  to  that  afforded  in 
the  practice  of  proof-reading ;  here  the  reader 
is  required  to  see  that  all  words  are  correctly 
spelled.     It  also  accustoms  the  pupils  to  detect, 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  I3I 

by  sight,  inaccuracies  in  spelling,  and  this  is  a 
valuable  acquisition.  It  also  gives  the  members 
of  the  class  facility  in  writing ;  they  will  learn 
to  write  much  more  rapidly,  in  exercises  like 
this,  than  they  would  in  lessons  of  penmanship 
written  out  upon  their  desks.  Spelling  is  rarely 
called  into  use  orally,  but  it  is  of  daily  use,  in 
writing,  to  vast  numbers  of  those  who  are  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools.  It  is  the  experience 
of  those  who  were  apt  spellers  in  school,  and 
who  stood  at  the  head  of  spelling  classes,  and 
who  were  able  in  *'  spelling  matches  "  to  "  spell 
down  "  all  opponents,  that  this  boasted  attain- 
ment of  school-day  life  was  of  little  use  in  the 
active  duties  of  later  years.  Spelling,  to  be 
taught  practically,  therefore,  must  be  taught  by 
the  use  of  pencil  and  pen,  and  in  that  manner 
it  becomes  a  daily  exercise  in  almost  every 
branch  of  learning.  Exercises  in  arithmetic,  in 
geography,  in  botany,  in  geology,  in  physiology, 
and  especially  in  grammar  and  composition,  are 
the  very  best  drills  in  spelling,  provided  the 
teacher  chooses  to  make  them  such.  The 
knowledge  of  the  correct  use  of  capital  letters 
and  marks  of  punctuation  is,  by  this  method, 
acquired  by  practice,  and  will  become  fixed  by 
force  of  habit  long  before  the  rules  governing 
their  uses  are  acquired  from  books. 

Exercises  in  spelling,  therefore,  are  reduced 


132  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

to  these  uses :  First,  for  purposes  of  drilling  in 
the  elementary  sounds,  and  this  should  be  con- 
tinued throughout  the  study  of  elocution  from 
the  A-B-C  class  to  the  class  in  declamation ; 
second,  spelling  for  the  purposes  of  business, 
which  consists  in  writing  words,  should  be 
taught  by  writing  words,  and  these  two  methods 
may  be  varied  so  as  to  secure  interest  and 
efficiency. 

GENERAL   EXERCISES    IN    SPELLING. 

Defective  orthography  is  a  matter  of  almost 
insuperable  embarrassment  to  men  and  women, 
who  are  unable  to  spell  the  words  of  their  lan- 
guage in  ordinary  use,  and  those,  who  do  not 
learn  to  spell  correctly  in  the  public  schools, 
rarely  attain  that  accomplishment  in  after-life. 
Though  one  method  may  be  better  than  another, 
no  teacher  should  consider  time  as  wasted,  that 
is  given  to  spelling  exercises  in  almost  any  form. 
The  whole  school  might  be  pleasantly  enter- 
tained for  a  few  minutes,  frequently,  by  exercises 
in  spelling ;  the  more  advanced  pupils  might  be 
required  to  spell  orally,  or  to  write  on  their 
slates  words  of  unusual  orthography.  The  mis- 
takes of  some  would  make  a  lasting  impression, 
so  that  they  would  be  avoided  by  all  in  future. 
The  younger  pupils  should  be  exercised  in 
easier  words,  and  even  the  children  might  print 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 33 

on  their  little  slates  a  few  simple  words  ;  the 
more  advanced  pupils  should  not  be  allowed  to 
encroach  upon  the  grounds  of  the  little  ones,  or 
to  criticise  them  too  severely  if  they  spell  incor- 
rectly. For  purposes  of  spelling,  the  school 
might  be  divided  into  grand  divisions ;  the  divis- 
ion required  to  spell  certain  words  could  be  an- 
nounced before  the  words  are  given,  and  in  this 
manner  three  or  four  words  might  be  pro- 
nounced rapidly,  and  whilst  the  larger  pupils 
were  writing  these,  other  words  could  be  given 
to  the  smaller  ones.  Thus  the  teacher  could 
pass  from  one  division  to  another  and  pronounce 
words  rapidly,  so  that  in  a  few  minutes  the 
whole  school  would  be  at  work  and  transfer 
them  to  their  slates. 

Another  exercise  could  be  introduced  by  con- 
veniently dividing  the  school,  as  by  placing 
those  on  one  side  of  the  main  aisle  against  those 
on  the  other  side,  or  the  girls  in  opposition  to 
the  boys,  so'  as  to  test  the  relative  skill  of  the 
two  divisions,  and  see  which  side  would  spell 
the  largest  proportion  of  a  given  number  of 
words.  This  exercise  could  be  conducted  by 
requiring  the  pupils  to  write  the  words  or  to 
spell  them  orally.  If,  as  is  very  often  the  case, 
a  spirit  of  dullness  settles  down  upon  the 
school,  so  that  neither  pupils  nor  teacher  know 
what  to  do  with  themselves,  a  pleasant  relief 

12 


134  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

may  be  introduced  by  a  drill  on  the  elementary 
sounds.  Let  the  teacher  write  on  the  black- 
board a  few  simple  words,  which  the  school  may 
spell  by  sound  in  concert,  the  teacher  lead- 
ing and  pointing  to  the  letter  that  represents 
the  sound  to  be  given.  This  is  a  drill  in  which 
all  can  join,  from  the  child  studying  the  ABC 
to  the  most  advanced  classes,  and  all  will  be 
profited  thereby.  The  teacher  who  varies  these 
exercises  so  as  to  make  them  agreeable,  and 
who  succeeds  in  making  of  the  boys  and  girls 
in  his  school  correct  spellers,  will  always  be  re- 
membered with  gratitude  and  pleasure  by  those 
who  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  his  in- 
struction. 

PRONUNCIATION ARTICULATION. 

A  correct  pronunciation  is  even  of  more  con- 
sequence than  a  correct  orthography.  Men 
talk  more  than  they  write,  and  therefore  errors 
in  pronunciation  exhibit  themselves  more  fre- 
quently than  errors  in  orthography.  It  is  im- 
possible to  converse  in  an  edifying  manner  or 
to  read  well  with  habits  of  faulty  pronunciation. 
To  pronounce  well  requires  the  ability  to  articu-. 
late  distinctly  every  element,  and  to  utter  plainly 
every  syllable  in  a  word.  Distinct  articulation 
requires  a  knowledge  of  the  elementary  sounds 
and  the  habit  of  giving  to  each  a  full  and  free 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  135 

Utterance,  and  also  of  giving  a  distinct  utterance 
to  every  syllable  in  a  word.  Pupils  who  are 
just  passing  from  the  learning  of  the  Alphabet 
are  usually  taught  pronunciation  by  spelling. 
The  method  pursued  is  to  name  the  letters,  pro- 
nounce the  syllables  and  then  pronounce  the 
whole  word.  This  is  mainly  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  the  pupil  to  determine  what  the  word 
is.  If,  from  the  beginning,  a  distinct  utterance 
of  the  sounds  which  the  letters  represent  is  re- 
quired, there  will  be  no  difficulty  as  the  pupil 
progresses  in  the  study  of  elocution  to  maintain 
a  correct  pronunciation.  In  the  utterance  of 
the  simplest  and  shortest  words,  therefore,  the 
pupil  must  be  required  to  produce  every  sound 
that  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  word. 
If  the  teacher  exercises  due  vigilance  to  detect 
and  is  prompt  in  calling  attention  to  every  error, 
there  will  be  very  little  difficulty  in  leading  his 
pupils  into  habits  of  correct  pronunciation.  This 
will  lead  to  elegance  in  conversation  and  in 
reading.  Defective  pronunciation  arises  more 
from  carelessness  in  articulation  than  from  want 
of  knowledge.  The  pupil  knows  perfectly  well 
how  to  pronounce  the  words  singing,  judgment, 
education,  yet  by  force  of  habit  pronounces  them 
as  if  written  singin,  judgemunt,  edecation.  The 
dropping  of  the  h  after  the  w  in  which,  what, 
wheat  and  similar  words  is  a  very  common  de- 


13^  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

feet,  and  this  is  done  by  force  of  habit.  The 
work  for  the  teacher,  therefore,  is  to  change 
habit,  so  that  the  same  power  which  persist- 
ently enforces  error  may  be  made  to  enforce 
propriety.  The  pupil  should  be  required  to  re- 
peat frequently  and  rapidly,  in  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct articulation,  the  words  that  he  is  in  the 
habit  of  pronouncing  defectively.  All  persons 
who  are  in  the  habit  of  carelessly  and  indistinct- 
ly pronouncing  words  may  correct  that  habit 
by  the  power  of  repetition ;  this  may  be  done 
at  all  hours  in  the  day  when  the  mind  is  not 
actively  occupied  in  special  duties,  in  walking  to 
and  from  school,  whilst  retiring  in  the  evening 
and  rising  in  the  morning;  if  the  organs  of 
speech  are  exercised  in  a  mere  whisper  in  the 
articulation  of  words  that  require  correction  in 
pronunciation,  the  defects  will  speedily  disap- 
pear. 

It  is  of  little  importance  at  what  age  or  at 
what  stage  of  progress  the  teacher  receives  pu- 
pils. If  they  have,  by  daily  practice,  either  in 
the  home-circle  or  under  careless  teaching  in 
the  public  schools,  acquired  habits  of  defective 
pronunciation,  it  is  his  first  duty  to  begin  a  prac- 
tical system  of  training  to  correct  the  errors  that 
his  pupils  have  fallen  into.  What  was  said  on 
the  importance  of  a  correct  spelling  is  doubly 
emphasized   on   the   subject   of  pronunciation. 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 3/ 

The  reward  of  the  teacher  will  be  immediate,  for 
the  most  bungling  and  heavy- tongued  among 
the  pupils  in  the  public  school  may,  under  a  ju- 
dicious system  of  training  in  articulation,  be 
brought  to  a  free  use  of  his  organs  of  speech  in 
pronouncing  the  words  of  the  English  language. 
In  every  school  there  will  be  found  many  pu- 
pils who  have  never  been  drilled  in  spelling  by 
sound,  who  have  never  been  required  to  exercise 
their  organs  of  speech  in  distinct  articulation, 
and  to  these  the  teacher  should  give  the  most 
careful  attention,  as  many  of  them  may  be  ad- 
vanced in  the  course  of  studies,  and  will  soon 
leave  the  public  schools.  It  may  be  the  last 
opportunity  that  such  pupils  will  have  for  receiv- 
ing proper  instruction,  that  will  enable  them  to 
correct  these  defects,  which,  if  neglected  in 
school,  will  follow  them  through  life,  causing 
them  mortification  in  society,  and  standing  as  a 
barrier  between  them  and  cultivated  people. 
Strangers,  when  first  introduced  to  us,  if  they 
are  accustomed  to  speak  the  same  language 
that  we  do,  are  immediately  judged  from  outward 
appearances.  A  defective  pronunciation  at  once 
suggests  ignorance  and  vulgarity.  Frequently 
persons  who  are  reasonably  well  educated  and 
refined  in  manner  have,  through  the  bungling 
of  schoolmasters,  been  permitted  to  grow  up  in 
habits  of  carelessness  in  articulation  that  ad- 

12* 


138  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

here  to  them  through  life,  and,  therefore,  these 
may  often  be  erroneously  classified,  and  that  is 
an  additional  misfortune.  • 

An  arrangement  of  the  letters  of  the  Alpha- 
bet, which  singly  or  in  combinations  represent 
the  elementary  sounds,  convenient  for  drilling 
classes  and  schools,  may  be  found  on  charts,  in 
spelling-books  and  in  readers  very  generally 
used  in  the  public  schools.  The  utterance  of 
the  vowel  sounds  is  more  readily  acquired  than 
the  utterance  of  the  sounds  represented  by  those 
consonants  usually  denominated  sub-vocals,  or 
sub-vowels,  or  sub-tonics — that  is,  sounds  be- 
tween an  open  utterance,  as  in  the  case  of 
vowel  sounds,  and  a  mere  whisper,  or  breathing, 
as  in  the  aspirates.  A  class  may  be  drilled  in 
the  sub-vowel  sounds  somewhat  in  the  following 
manner,  viz. :  Write  on  the  blackboard  the  word 
bat;  require  the  class  to  pronounce  it  in  concert, 
every  pupil  giving  a  full  and  complete  utterance ; 
remove  the  letter  t,  and  require  the  class  to  pro- 
nounce the  remaining  part  of  the  word,  ba  ;  re- 
move the  letter  a,  and  require  the  class  to  give 
the  sound  represented  by  the  letter  b.  This 
must  be  given  with  the  lips  closely  pressed  to- 
gether, and  it  will  require  repeated  efforts  from 
all  the  members  of  the  class  to  give  a  full  utter- 
ance to  this  sound ;  yet  it  is  precisely  here  that 
the  chief  distinction  lies  between  a  full,  round, 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  I39 

distinct  pronunciation  and  a  smothered,  com- 
pressed and  defective  pronunciation.  This  or- 
der may  be  reversed.  Write  the  word  again  on 
the  board,  bat;  require  the  class  to  pronounce 
it ;  remove  the  letter  b,  and  require  the  class  to 
pronounce  the  remaining  at  ;  remove  the  letter 
a,  and  require  the  class  to  give  the  sound  of  the 
letter  t.  The  class  is  now  prepared  to  spell  the 
word — not  by  naming  the  letters  as  is  the  usual 
mode,  but  by  giving  utterance  to  the  elementary 
sounds.  Other  words,  as  dog,  jug,  bad,  keg,  lip, 
and  the  like,  may  be  treated  in  the  same  manner 
as  suggested  above.  The  whole  school  should 
frequently  be  required  to  engage  in  an  exercise 
like  this,  and  all  the  pupils  will  derive  great 
profit  therefrom. 

THE   VOCAL   ORGANS. 

The  vocal  organs  are  those  by  which  all 
sounds  of  the  human  voice  are  produced.  They 
are  the  lungs,  trachea,  larynx,  glottis  and 
epiglottis. 

The  organs  of  articulation  are  those  by  which 
the  sounds  of  the  human  voice  are  modified. 
They  are  the  lips,  teeth,  tongue  and  palate. 

A  simple  vowel  is  a  sound  produced  without 
changing  the  position  of  the  organs  of  articula> 
tion  during  the  emission  of  breath. 

A  compound  vowel  is  a  sound  produced  by 


I40  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

changing  the  position  of  the  organs  of  articula- 
tion during  the  emission  of  breath. 

A  teacher  may  illustrate  the  force  of  these 
definitions  by  uttering  the  sound  of  a  in  fate, 
which  is  a  simple  vowel,  and  the  sound  of  i  in 
fine,  which  is  a  compound  vowel.  Observe  that 
while  giving  the  a  sound  there  is  no  motion  of 
the  organs  of  articulation,  but  in  giving  the  i 
sound  there  is  motion  in  these  organs. 

USING   THE   ORGANS   OF    ARTICULATION. 

A  Consonant  is  either  a  mere  breathing  or  a 
sound  interrupted  by  the  organs  of  articulation. 

The  manner  of  using  the  organs  of  articula- 
tion gives  rise  to  four  divisions  of  consonants. 

Consonants  are  labials,  labio-dentals,  lingua- 
dentals  and  Hngua-gutturals. 

Labials  are  articulations  of  the  lips.  They 
are  represented  by  /,  b  and  m, 

Labio-dentals  are  articulations  of  the  lower 
lip  and  the  upper  teeth.  They  are  represented 
hy  f  and  v. 

Lingua-dentals  are  articulations  of  the  tongue 
and  teeth,  or  gums.  They  are  represented  by 
/,  d,  ch,  y,  Sy  2,  sh,  shy  th,  /,  n  and  r. 

Lingua-gutturals  are  articulations  produced 
with  the  tongue  rolled  back  against  the  palate. 
They  are  represented  by  k,  g  and  ng. 

Consonants   may  also  be  divided  into  sub- 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION. 


141 


vocals  and  aspirates.  A  sub-vocal  is  a  vocal 
sound  suppressed  by  the  organs  of  articulation. 
An  aspirate  is  a  whispering  sound  without 
vocality. 

TABLE    OF    ELEMENTS. 

The  following  is  a  simple  form  for  a  table  of 
elementary  sounds,  which  can  be  written  upon 
a  blackboard,  or  drawn  upon  a  chart  convenient 
for  reference.  It  may  also  be  used  for  concert 
exercises,  in  which  the  whole  school  may  en- 
gage, or  in  class  recitations. 

ELEMENTARY  SOUNDS  REPRESENTED   BY  LETTERS  OF 
THE  ALPHABET. 


VOWELS. 

a, 

ale,    a. 

e,    ell.     e. 

0, 

ox,     0. 

a, 

arm,  a. 

i,     ice,     L 

u. 

use,    u, 

a, 

all.     a. 

i,      it.        i. 

u. 

up,     u. 

a, 

at,      a. 

0,     ode,  0. 

u. 

full.    u. 

e, 

eke,    g. 

0,     do,     0. 

SUB-VOCALS. 

ou, 

out,    ou 

b, 

bid. 

n,      nun. 

s, 

as. 

d. 

deed. 

r,       rear. 

z, 

zest. 

g, 

gay. 

V,      valve. 

z. 

azure. 

1, 

judge, 
lull. 

w,     woe. 

y,     yell. 

ng, 
th, 

song, 
that. 

m, 

mum. 

ASPIRATES. 

P. 
ch 

pop- 
kick, 
church. 

s,      siss. 
sh,    ship, 
t,      tat. 

th, 

h, 

wh 

thin. 

hat. 

,  when. 

f, 

fife. 

142  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

COGNATES. 

When  two  sounds  can  be  produced  without 
changing  the  position  of  the  organs  of  articula- 
tion, they  are  called  cognate  sounds.  Thus  the 
sounds  represented  by  p  and  b  are  cognates, 
also  by  /  and  ^,y"and  v,  k  and  g,  ch  and/,  s  and 
Zy  sh  and  zh,  th  and  ih. 

The  following  suggestions  will  serve  to  guide 
the  efforts  of  the  teacher  to  overcome  faulty  and 
to  establish  correct  articulation  : 

P  and  B. — The  sound  represented  by  p  Is 
formed  by  pressing  the  lips  together  before  or 
after  a  vowel  sound ;  the  sound  represented  by 
b  is  produced  by  holding  the  lips  in  the  same 
position  and  adding  a  sub-vocal  utterance,  so  as 
not  to  emit  breath  through  the  nostrils . 

T  and  d, — The  sound  represented  by  /  Is 
formed  by  pressing  the  tongue  against  the  gums 
of  the  upper  teeth ;  the  sound  represented  by 
d  is  formed  by  holding  the  organs  of  articula- 
tion in  the  same  position  and  uttering  a  sub- 
vocal  sound.  To  complete  the  t  sound  It  Is 
necessary  to  drop  the  end  of  the  tongue  back 
from  the  teeth,  but  the  d  sound  is  completed 
with  the  organs  in  the  position  first  assumed. 

F and  v. — The  sound  represented  by  f  is 
formed  by  pressing  the  upper  teeth  gently  upon 
the  lower  lip  and  emitting  the  breath ;  the  sound 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION,  1 43 

represented  by  v  is  formed  by  holding  the  organs 
of  articulation  in  the  same  position  and  uttering 
a  sub-vocal  sound. 

K  and  g. — The  sound  represented  by  k  is 
formed  by  pressing  the  middle  part  of  the  tongue 
firmly  against  the  upper  and  back  part  of  the 
palate  ;  the  sound  represented  by^  is  formed  by 
keeping  the  organs  of  articulation  in  the  same 
position  and  uttering  a  sub-vocal  sound. 

Ch  and  j, — The  sound  represented  by  ch  is 
formed  by  pressing  the  tongue  against  the  gums 
of  the  upper  teeth  and  emitting  the  breath  by 
slightly  dropping  the  tongue ;.  the  sound  repre- 
sented by  j  is  formed  by  holding  the  organs  in 
this  position  and  uttering  a  sub-vocal  sound. 

kS"  and  z. — 6*  sometimes  represents  an  aspirate 
and  sometimes  a  sub-vocal  sound ;  the  latter  is 
the  same  as  that  represented  by  z.  The  aspi- 
rate sound  of  s  is  formed  by  placing  the  tongue 
against  the  gums  of  the  upper  teeth  so  as  to 
emit  the  breath  over  the  tip  of  the  tongue ;  the 
sound  represented  by  z  is  formed  by  holding 
the  organs  of  articulation  in  the  same  position 
and  uttering  a  sub-vocal  sound. 

Sh  and  zh. — The  sound  represented  by  sh  is 
formed  by  placing  the  sides  of  the  tongue 
against  the  upper  teeth  and  dropping  the  end 
of  the  tongue  so  as  to  nearly  touch  the  gums  of 
the  lower  teeth,  and  emitting  the  breath  through 


144  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

the  aperture  thus  formed;  the  sound  repre- 
sented by  zh  is  formed  by  holding  the  organs 
of  articulation  in  this  position  and  uttering  a 
'sub-vocal  sound. 

Th  and  ih. — ^The  aspirate  sound  represented 
by  th  is  formed  by  placing  the  tip  of  the  tongue 
between  the  teeth  and  emitting  the  breath ;  the 
sub-vocal  sound  represented  by  ih  is  formed  by 
holding  the  organs  in  this  position  and  giving  a 
sub-vocal  utterance. 

These  distinctions  should  be  marked  by  teach- 
ers, and  the  pupils  should  be  required  to  prac- 
tice them  until  they  are  familiar.  Defective  or 
faulty  pronunciations  arise  from  a  misplacing 
of  the  organs ;  the  most  effectual  method,  there- 
fore, of  correcting  them,  is  by  directing  pupils 
in  what  position  the  organs  of  articulation  must 
be  placed  in  order  to  produce  correct  utter- 
ances. Errors  most  frequently  occur  in  the  use 
of  cognate  sounds  which  are  interchanged,  the 
one  being  substituted  for  the  other  by  foreigners 
attempting  to  speak  English.  These  defects 
will  be  removed  by  drilling  in  the  cognate 
sounds  as  here  indicated. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION,— Continued. 

READING. 

ETHODS  of  teaching  reading  are  mod- 
ified by  the  capacity  of  the  pupils. 
Those  passing  from  the  spelHng  and 
pronouncing  of  words  to  reading,  and 
until  they  are  able  to  commit  to  memory  and 
comprehend  the  simple  rules  of  elocution,  must 
be  instructed  orally.  This  is  called  the  •First 
stage. 

The  activity  of  Sense  and  Memory  in  child- 
hood makes  of  children  quick  imitators.  They, 
with  little  effort,  almost  exactly  reproduce  what- 
ever impresses  them  forcibly,  either  in  action  or 
in  speech.  By  the  cultivation  of  this  power  they 
Soon  acquire  skill  in  reading,  and  are  thus  pre- 
pared to  enter  upon  the  Second  stage  of  learn- 
ing to  read.  They  may  thus  learn  and  observe 
certain  simple  and  practical  rules  of  pitch,  force, 

13  K  145 


146  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

time  and  Inflection,  and  give  attention  to  the 
cultivation  of  expression. 

BEGINNING   TO    READ. 

Reading  is  an  art.  It  requires  a  knowledge 
of  the  alphabet,  spelling  and  pronunciation. 
What  has  been  taught  or  suggested  in  methods 
of  teaching  the  alphabet,  orthography  and  pro- 
nunciation must  now  be  reduced  to  practice. 

The  first  essential  in  good  reading  is  distinct 
articulation  and  the  prompt  pronunciation  of 
each  word  as  it  occurs  in  the  composition.  Ar- 
ticulation is  the  art  of  uttering  distinctly  the  ele- 
mentary sounds  in  syllables  and  words.  If  pu- 
pils have  been  thoroughly  drilled  in  articulation, 
there  will  be  little  difficulty  in  leading  them  into 
habits  of  reading  clearly  and  distinctly.  A  pupil 
should  not  be  required  to  read  a  sentence  until 
he  is  able  to  pronounce,  at  sight,  every  word  in 
that  sentence. 

First  of  all,  the  difference  between  naming 
words  and  reading  must  be  clearly  pointed  out. 
A  child  required  to  read  without  any  previous 
instruction  or  direction  on  the  subject  will,  in  a 
forcible  manner,  pronounce  one  word  after  the 
other,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  sen- 
tence, and  will  consider  that  reading.  In  order 
to  establish  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil  the  differ- 
ence between  this  explosive  style  of  pronoun- 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  I47 

cing  words,  and  reading,  the  teacher  should  write 
a  short  sentence  on  the  blackboard,  as,  "James, 
bring  me  your  hat.'*  Let  the  teacher  pronounce 
each  of  these  words,  not  always  in  their  regular 
order,  and  require  the  members  of  the  class,  one 
after  the  other,  to  do  the  same.  Impress  upon 
the  minds  of  the  pupils  that  reading  is  simply 
repeating  from  a  book  or  paper,  what  some  one 
else  has  said  or  written.  Let  the  teacher  say 
to  his  class,  "  Suppose  you  wish  to  ask  James  to 
bring  his  hat  to  you,  and  in  order  to  do  that  you 
would  use  the  words  written  on  the  blackboard, 
how  would  you  pronounce  these  words  ?"  It  is 
probable  that  most  ^f  the  class  will  read  the 
sentence  in  an  artificial  style,  in  an  elevated  key 
and  a  drawling  tone.  This  style  may  be  cor- 
rected by  telling  one  member  of  the  class  to 
look  at  the  boy  by  his  side  and  say  to  him, 
"  Bring  me  your  hat,"  just  as  if  he  wished  him 
to  go  and  get  his  hat  for  him.  Practice  this  by 
varying  it  to  meet  the  circumstances,  until  each 
member  of  the  class  reads  the  sentence  on  the 
board  as  he  would  speak  it  to  a  boy  if  he  really 
asked  for  his  hat.  After  several  sentences 
have  been  treated  in  this  way,  the  teacher  may 
take  up  the  class-book  and  select  a  short  para- 
graph, divide  it  into  sentences  and  the  sentences 
into  phrases ;  the  smallest  divisions  should  be 
read  by  all  the  members  of  the  class,  both  indi- 


148  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

vidually  and  in  concert.  When  the  phrases  In 
a  sentence  shall  have  been  made  familiar,  some 
one  in  the  class  may  read  the  whole  sentence ; 
every  member  of  the  class  should  read  it,  and 
the  class  should  read  it  in  concert.  It  is  better 
to  spend  twenty  minutes  in  learning  how  to  read 
one  sentence  well,  than  to  blunder  over  two  or 
three  pages  without  having  established  a  definite 
idea  of  how  to  read  any  part  of  it.  Reading  as 
an  art  is  first  learned  by  imitation,  and  is  after- 
ward perfected  by  practice.  In  order  to  imitate, 
and  also  in  order  to  practice,  the  pupil  must 
have  a  model.  Whenever,  therefore,  a  single 
sentence  or  a  short  paragraph  is  so  mastered 
by  the  class,  that  each  member  can  read  it  cor- 
rectly, that  sentence  or  that  paragraph  will  stand 
in  the  mind  of  the  pupil  as  a  model.  An  effort 
will  thereafter  be  made  to  read  other  sentences 
and  other  paragraphs  in  the  same  style,  and 
with  the  same  facility,  that  the  model  passage  is 
read. 

THE    FIRST   READING   LESSON. 

In  assigning  to  a  class  of  beginners  a  reading 
lesson,  the  teacher  should  select  a  suitable  para- 
graph, one  that  sets  forth  what  is  within  the 
comprehension  of  the  pupils ;  the  pupils  should 
then  be  instructed  to  study  the  lesson  so  as  to 
be  able  to  pronounce,  rapidly  and  correctly,  all 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 49 

the  words  in  it.  Before  attempting  to  read,  the 
class  should  be  required  to  pronounce  all  of  the 
more  difficult  words  in  the  lesson ;  the  teacher 
should  then  read  the  first  sentence,  repeating  it 
two  or  three  times,  so  as  to  enable  the  pupils  to 
catch  the  exact  style  in  which  they  are  expected 
to  repeat  the  words.  Now  let  each  member  of 
the  class  read  the  sentence,  the  teacher  pointing 
out  defects  in  pronunciation,  tone  of  voice,  mo- 
tion, force,  pitch  and  inflection,  not  by  introducing 
by  name  these  qualities,  or  by  attempting  to  teach 
rules  for  the  governing  of  the  voice,  but  by  sim- 
ply demonstrating  by  vocal  illustrations  to  the 
pupils,  that  they  read  incorrectly,  and  by  giving 
the  correct  rendering.  The  fact  to  be  taught  to 
a  class  just  beginning  to  read  is,  that  reading 
correctly  involves  more  than  the  mere  naming 
of  the  words  in  the  passage  in  regular  order. 
This  accomplished,  the  pupils  are  prepared, to 
put  forth  efforts  to  acquire  the  ability  to  do 
something  more  than  to  pronounce,  correctly, 
words  in  sentences. 

The  teacher  should  impress  upon  the  young 
pupils  the  idea  that  they  are  required  simply  to 
talk  from  the  book.  In  a  small  reader,  used 
in  many  of  the  schools,  occurs  this  sentence: 
*' Mother,  William  has  taken  his  wheelbarrow 
into  the  garden."  Bring  the  children  to  com- 
prehend that  this  sentence  requires  precisely 

13* 


ISO  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

the  same  utterance,  when  found  in  the  book,  as 
it  receives  originally,  when  the  little  child  ran  to 
her  mother  to  tell  her  that  William  had  taken 
his  wheelbarrow  into  the  garden.  Let  each 
member  of  the  class  be  required  to  state  to  the 
teacher  how  he  or  she  would  have  pronounced 
this  sentence,  if  using  it  originally.  Bring  out  a 
natural  and  easy  utterance,  make  that  the  model 
and  carry  it  into  the  book,  and  the  work  is  ac- 
complished. 

CORRECTING    FAULTY   STYLES. 

Most  teachers  will  find  it  necessary  to  do 
more  than  to  establish  habits  of  correct  reading. 
They  will  be  frequently  called  upon  to  break  up 
habits  of  incorrect  reading.  This  may  best  be 
done  by  drilling  on  a  single  sentence,  short  and 
within  the  comprehension  of  the  pupil.  Train 
those  pupils  who  have  been  allowed  to  read  in 
a  sing-song  style,  with  the  voice  pitched  to  a 
high  key,  to  utter  one  short  sentence  correctly ; 
print  that  upon  a  chart,  or  write  it  upon  the 
blackboard,  and  allow  it  to  stand  as  a  model, 
and  whenever  such  pupils  fall  back  into  their 
old  habits  point  them  to  the  model  and  require 
them  to  repeat  it. 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION,  \^\ 


READING   TOO   MUCH. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
real  progress  in  the  art  of  reading  is  the  per- 
nicious practice  of  attempting  to  read  too  much. 
A  class  should  be  kept  on  a  short  piece  of  simple 
composition  long  enough  to  enable  it  to  master 
the  sense  in  every  particular,  and  to  bring  out 
the  full  meaning  in  the  reading.  It  is  better  to 
give  weeks,  or  even  months,  to  the  thorough 
mastering  of  one  short  piece,  than  to  listlessly 
read  a  book  throu^  in  that  time. 

When  a  suitable  piece  shall  have  been  se- 
lected, the  teacher  should  make  it  a  subject  for 
conversation  during  the  first  recitation  period. 
He  should  explain  the  meaning  and  sentiment 
of  the  composition  in  a  style  that  is  compre- 
hended by  the  members  of  the  class,  and  that 
will  interest  them  in  reading  it  over  carefully. 
In  the  second  recitation  period,  devoted  to  this 
piece,  the  teacher  should  require  from  the  pupils 
an  explanation  of  the  thoughts  contained  in 
each  paragraph  and  of  the  sentiment  in  the 
whole  composition.  After  the  whole  theme  has 
been  made  familiar  to  all,  the  class  is  ready  to 
begin  to  read.  The  first  paragraph  should  be 
read  by  each  pupil,  and  should  be  re-read  until 
every  member  of  the  class  renders  it  correctly* 
The  second  paragraph  may  then  be  taken  up 


152  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL, 

and  treated  In  a  similar  manner,  and  so  likewise 
the  other  paragraphs,  until  the  class  Is  able  to 
read  each  correctly ;  then  each  member  of  the 
class  may  be  required  to  read  the  whole  piece 
from  beginning  to  end. 

THE  SECOND  STAGE. 

By  the  practice  of  reading  from  Imitation, 
young  pupils  will  very  early  attain  that  degree 
of  advancement,  at  which  the  subject  can  be 
taken  up  and  treated  as  one  governed  by 
principles  that  may  be  expressed  In  rules.  From 
this  point  forward  the  method  of  Instruction 
will  be  somewhat  different.  Hitherto  the  pupils 
have  learned  to  read  certain  pieces  by  Imitating 
the  teacher,  and  by  doing  as  nearly  as  possible 
what  they  were  told  to  do.  The  first  stage  of 
learning  to  read  ends  when  the  purely  oral 
methods  of  teaching  are  no  longer  required. 
Generally  the  teacher  must  be  the  judge  of  the 
proper  time,  at  which  to  Introduce  rules  of  read- 
ing to  his  class.  It  will  be  better  to  postpone 
this  change  of  method  than  to  Introduce  it  be- 
fore the  pupils  are  prepared  to  comprehend  the 
rules,  or  to  apply  the  principles  of  elocution  set 
forth  In  them. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  examination  of  more 
formal  methods  of  teaching  elocution,  attention 
must  be  given  to  some  general  principles  that 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  I $3 

should  govern  the  teachers  and  authorities  in 
the  pubhc  schools.  It  is  essential  to  keep  in 
mind  constantly  the  scope  and  limits  of  a  public- 
school  education.  There  is  no  branch  of  study- 
pursued  in  these  schools,  which  has  been  so 
warped  and  abused  as  the  one  now  under  con- 
sideration. A  few  traveling  elocutionists  have 
been  able  to  turn  the  heads  of  many  teachers, 
and  to  instill  the  idea,  that  the  school-rooms 
throughout  the  country  are  the  proper  places 
wherein  to  teach  elocution  as  a  "  high  art."  Men 
and  women  subject  themselves  to  severe  drills 
on  a  few  pieces  of  humorous  and  pathetic  com- 
position, and  then  set  themselves  up  as  "  elocu- 
tionists ";  they  visit  normal  schools,  teachers' 
institutes,  conventions  and  associations,  where 
they  "  entertain  "  audiences  by  the  recitation  of 
their  whole  stock  in  trade.  Under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, considered  as  an  entertainment, 
these  exhibitions  may  not  be  objectionable,  but, 
unfortunately,  they  are  usually  prefaced,  or  fol- 
lowed by  lectures  on  the  subject  of  reading, 
laboring  to  show  that  reading  is  nothing  if  not 
performed  in  the  manner  of  these  ''elocutionists." 
Elocution  in  its  highest  sense  is  a  fine  art. 
The  ability  to  speak  with  force  and  elegance  in 
original  discourse,  or  in  the  rendering  of  the  com- 
position of  others,  is  a  very  desirable  acquisition. 
The  objection  made  here  is,  that  the  teaching 


IS4  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

of  this  art,  as  presented  by  most  professional 
elocutionists,  is  out  of  place  in  the  public 
schools.  For  purposes  of  emphasis  it  is  again 
repeated,  that  these  schools  are  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  millions.  With  reference  to  any 
study,  therefore,  or  any  exercise  urged  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  school  authorities,  the 
sole  question  to  be  determined  is,  whether  it  is 
desirable  as  a  study,  or  exercise  for  the  masses, 
who  are  educated  in  the  public  schools.  With 
reference  to  the  subject  of  reading,  what  is  it 
that  should  be  taught  in  these  schools  ?  Clearly 
this:  the  reading  of  colloquial  and  descriptive 
styles  of  composition  with  grace  and  fluency — 
that  is,  the  children  in  the  public  schools  should, 
by  a  judicious  system  of  training,  acquire  the 
ability  to  read  ordinary  composition,  such  as  is 
found  in  the  Scriptures  and  other  family  litera- 
ture, whether  permanent,  or  ephemeral  in  its 
character,  in  such  manner  that  they  may  under- 
stand it  themselves,  and  that  they  who  hear  may 
comprehend  the  meaning  of  what  is  read.  What 
is  beyond  this  is  technical,  and  no  more  belongs 
to  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools,  than  the 
technical  arts  or  sciences  of  other  professions. 
A  few  simple  rules,  learned  and  applied,  will 
give  this  ability  to  the  pupil.  The  teacher 
should  be  critical  in  everything  that  is  read, 
whether    in    the    ordinary  reading-book,  or   in 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  -1 5 5 

recitations,  in  other  studies,  demanding  that 
every  sentence,  whether  standing  alone  or  as 
part  of  a  discourse,  should  be  rendered  correctly. 

RULES. 

The  reading  of  every  sentence  involves  pitch, 
F0RC15  and  time. 

Pitch. — Pitch  indicates  the  key,  that  is,  the 
elevation  or  depression  of  voice  in  which  a  sen- 
tence is  rendered.  To  enable  all  pupils  to  dis- 
tinguish difference  in  pitch,  require  each  member 
of  the  class  to  read  a  familiar  sentence  in  an 
ordinary  tone.  Call  that  tone  of  voice  for  the 
pupil  who  reads  the  sentence,  medium  pitch; 
let  the  same  pupil  then  read  the  same  sentence 
in  the  highest  possible  key,  in  which  he  can  give 
a  distinct  utterance ;  this  call  high  pitch.  The 
same  pupil  should  be  again  required  to  read  the 
same  sentence  in  the  lowest  tone  of  voice,  in 
which  he  can  give  a  distinct  utterance,  and  this 
may  be  called  low  pitch.  Another  pupil  may 
be  required  to  do  the  same  thing,  and  may  be 
able  to  read  the  sentence  on  a  higher  key,  or  on  a 
lower  key,  or  on  both  higher  and  lower  keys,  than 
the  first.  These  terms,  therefore,  high  pitch 
and  low  pitch,  are  relative,  depending  upon  the 
register  of  the  individual  voice. 

All  ordinary  composition  is  read  in  the  medi- 
um pitch.     Animated  and  exciting  discourse  is 


156  ART  OF    TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

read  in  a  high  pitch.  Grave  and  solemn  com- 
position is  read  in  a  low  pitch.  These  general 
principles  should  be  illustrated  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  compositions  thus  differing  in  style,  which 
should  be  read  by  the  teacher  and  repeated  by 
the  pupils. 

Force, — Force  is  a  term  applied  to  the  ppwer, 
or  volume  of  voice  used  in  uttering  a  sentence. 
Differences  of  force  may  be  illustrated  by  per- 
suing a  method  similar  to  that  described  on  the 
subject  of  Pitch.  There  is  a  medium  voice,  a 
loud  voice  and  a  soft  voice.  The  medium  is  the 
natural  volume  of  voice,  in  which  the  pupil  reads 
ordinary  composition.  Loud  voice  is  the  great- 
est volume  of  voice  that  the  reader  possesses. 
The  soft  voice  is  the  most  subdued  volume  of 
voice,  in  which  the  pupil  can  give  utterance  to  a 
sentence. 

The  emotions  of  the  heart  are  represented 
chiefly  by  the  volume  of  voice  used.  When  the 
heart  is  stirred  with  anger,  the  utterance  is  usu- 
ally in  a  loud  voice.  When  it  is  oppressed  by 
grief,  or  moved  in  tender  affections,  the  utter- 
ance is  usually  in  a  soft  and  mellow  voice.  The 
two  extremes  of  Force  and  the  medium  should 
be  illustrated  in  proper  selections,  to  be  read  by 
the  teacher  and  repeated  by  the  class. 

Force  includes  Articulation,  Accent  and  Em- 
phasis. 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  15/ 

Articulation  has  already  been  treated  of  at 
considerable  length  under  the  several  divisions 
of  the  alphabet,  orthography  and  pronuncia- 
tion, and  also  in  the  first  stage  of  reading. 

Accent. — Accent  is  also  part  of  pronunciation. 
Habits  of  correct  accentuation  are  acquired 
through  the  power  of  imitation.  Rules  of  ac- 
cent cannot,  with  propriety,  be  introduced  to 
pupils  who  are  learning  to  spell  and  to  pro- 
nounce words.  They  learn  accent,  however,  as 
it  were,  intuitively.  Pupils  readily  accent  words 
correctly  that  resemble  those  they  have  already 
learned  to  pronounce.  Acquiring  the  ability  to 
pronounce  a  word  involves  a  practice  of  accent- 
uation, but  does  not  necessarily  give  a  know- 
ledge of  the  principles  that  govern  accents.  The 
rules  of  accent  set  forth  in  the  readers  are  ne- 
cessarily of  little  use.  What  is  required  from 
the  teacher  is  promptness  in  correcting  any  false 
accentuation  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  and  also 
to  require  the  accent  to  be  distinctly  marked. 

Emphasis. — Emphasis  is  the  utterance  of 
some  word  or  words  in  a  sentence  with  greater 
force,  than  those  immediately  preceding  or  fol- 
lowing the  emphasized  part  receive.  Before 
the  pupil  can  rightly  determine  what  word  or 
words  should  be  marked  by  an  increase  of  force, 
he  must  thoroughly  comprehend  the  meaning 
conveyed  in  the  sentence.     A  sentence  is  a  col- 

14 


1S8  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

lection  of  words  expressing  a  thought.  The  lead- 
ing idea  is  found  in  some  one  word  or  phrase  in 
the  sentence,  and  whatever  precedes  or  follows 
this  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  explaining  or  limit 
ing.  Emphasis  is  employed  in  giving  utterance 
to  bring  out  this  leading  idea,  and  to  distinguish 
it  from  its  surroundings.  In  the  act  of  rendering 
a  sentence,  if  the  pupil  misapplies  the  emphasis, 
the  teacher  should  require  him  to  explain  the 
meaning — that  is,  to  point  out  the  leading  idea 
in  the  sentence ;  after  that  has  been  done,  there 
will  be  no  difficulty  in  correctly  placing  the  em- 
phasis. 

Time. — Time  expresses  the  rapidity  with  which 
sentences  are  uttered.  There  is  the  ordinary  or 
medium  rate,  which  the  habit  of  the  individual 
establishes.  There  is  a  limit  to  the  highest 
rapidity  with  which  words  can  be  uttered  intel- 
ligibly. The  other  extreme  is  not  so  definitely 
marked.  By  slowness  of  time,  therefore,  is 
meant  such  deliberation  of  utterance  as  admits 
of  considerable  pause  between  the  words. 

It  is  desirable  that  all  pupils  should  establish 
habits  of  reading  with  reasonable  rapidity. 
When  reading  is  a  mental  exercise,  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  the  student  to  be  able  to  read 
rapidly,  whatever  receives  his  attention,  and 
much  may  be  done  in  our  public  schools  to 
cultivate  habits  of  rapid  reading.     As  an  oral 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 59 

exercise,  pupils  should  not  be  permitted  to  read 
with  greater  rapidity  than  will  admit  of  a  clear 
and  distinct  utterance  of  syllables,  and  of  every 
word  in  the  sentence. 

In  no  case  should  a  pupil  be  permitted  to 
drawl  out  hesitatingly  and  indistinctly  an  exer- 
cise in  reading.  Promptness  and  distinctness 
should  be  required  in  the  utterance  of  every 
sentence.  If  there  is  natural  hesitation  or  diffi- 
dence, it  may  be  overcome  by  frequent  repeti- 
tion of  sentences  or  paragraphs,  until  they  be- 
come so  familiar  that  the  teacher  can  force  the 
time  up  to  such  a  point  of  rapidity  as  would  be 
desirable  for  the  improvement  of  the  pupil's 
style. 

In  treating  of  Pitch,  Force  and  Time,  only  the 
well-marked  distinctions  have  been  noted ;  be- 
tween medium  and  hiofh  and  medium  and  low 
Pitch  there  are  grades  not  well  marked,  how- 
ever. The  same  observation  applies  to  the 
graduations  of  Force  and  also  of  Time.  It  is 
more  likely  to  produce  confusion  in  the  minds 
of  the  pupils,  to  attempt  to  mark  these  inter- 
mediate distinctions,  than  to  result  in  any  good. 

When  the  fact  is  kept  in  view,  that  we  are 
educating  the  masses  of  the  people  to  do  well, 
what  they  are  likely  to  be  called  upon  to  do  in 
their  several  spheres  of  life,  the  propriety  of 
resting  these  distinctions  as  they  are  here  made 


l6o  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

will  be  justified.  If  elocution  Is  to  be  studied  as 
an  art  for  professional  purposes,  the  application 
of  time  and  effort,  far  beyond  what  is  consistent 
with  the  public-school  period,  will  give  to  the 
voice  and  passions,  that  training  which  will  en- 
able the  reader  to  mark  fine  distinctions.  These 
are  required  of  professional  elocutionists,  but 
not  of  men  and  women  who  read  in  their  homes 
for  their  own  edification,  or  for  the  instruction 
of  their  families  or  friends. 

Inflection. — By  inflection  is  meant  the  modu- 
lations or  slides  of  the  voice  from  one  key  to 
another.  There  are  three  inflections,  the  Rising 
Inflection,  the  Falling  Inflection  and  the  Cir- 
cumflex. 

Rising  Inflection  is  an  upward  slide  of  the 
voice,  or  the  passing  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
pitch. 

Fallhig  Inflection  is  a  downward  slide  of  the 
voice,  or  a  passing  from  a  higher  to  a  lower 
pitch. 

Circumflex  is  a  combination  of  the  Rising  and 
Falling  Inflections. 

For  general  purposes  these  inflections  may 
be  applied  as  follows : 

Direct  questions — that  is,  such  questions  as 
may  be  answered  by  yes  or  no — are  usually  read 
in  the  Rising  Inflection. 

Indirect  questions,  or  such  as  require  a  cir- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  l6l 

cumstantial  answer,  are  usually  read  in  a  Falling 
Inflection. 

Sarcasm  and  irony  require  the  circumflex. 

Composition  expressing  solemnity,  majesty 
or  awe  is  read  without  a  change  of  voice — that 
is,  in  monotone. 

Elocutionists  are  in  the  habit  of  forming 
numerous  rules  on  the  subject  of  Inflection,  but 
those  here  given  will  serve  as  sufficient  guides 
to  the  teachers  and  pupils  in  the  pubHc  schools. 
The  teacher,  of  course,  is  supposed  to  know 
something  more.  If  in  the  course  of  reading, 
passages  should  occur  requiring  departure  from 
these  rules — that  is,  if  exceptions  to  the  general 
rules  should  arise — teachers  should  be  able  to 
point  them  out  and  give  a  reason  for  them. 
For  example,  a  direct  question,  though-read  in 
the  Rising  Inflection,  if  repeated,  takes  the  Fall- 
ing Inflection. 

Inflection  may  be  presented  to  the  pupils  by 
writing  a  sentence  on  the  blackboard  and  re- 
quiring the  class  to  read  it  in  the  Rising  Inflec- 
tion and  in  the  Falling  Inflection.  Examples  in 
which  circumflex  may  be  applied  should  also  be 
written  on  the  board  for  the  purpose  of  class 
drill. 

Nearly  all  of  the  reading  in  common  life  is 
done  in  medium  Pitch,  medium  Force  and 
medium  Time,  but  there  is  not  this  sameness 
u*  L 


1 62  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

in  the  use  of  Inflection.  It  is  impossible  to 
converse  on  any  subject  of  interest  for  a  space 
of  five  minutes  without  using,  repeatedly,  the 
Rising  and  FalHng  Inflections.  Also  in  reading 
descriptive  and  colloquial  styles,  especially  of 
the  latter,  Inflection  is  brought  into  constant 
and  varied  use. 

Before  a  class  is  permitted  to  read  a  lesson, 
the  questions  of  Pitch,  Force  and  Time  and  of 
Inflection  should  be  determined.  It  will  be 
necessary  to  examine  all  parts  of  the  selection 
critically,  and  the  teacher  should  require  the 
several  members  of  the  class  to  state  the  Inflec- 
tion that  may  be  properly  applied  to  any  ques- 
tions that  occur  in  the  lesson. 

When  the  subject  of  Inflection  is  first  pre- 
sented to  a  class,  the  teacher  should  select 
dialogues,  or  compositions  in  which  frequent 
questions  and  answers  occur,  so  that  marked 
examples  of  Inflection  may  frequently  arise  for 
the  determination  and  exercise  of  the  pupils. 
A  short  dialogue  covering  two  or  three  pages 
of  a  Reader,  thoroughly  mastered  by  a  class,  will 
do  more  to  establish  correct  habits  in  the  use. 
of  Force  and  Inflection,  than  all  the  rules  and 
exceptions  that  have  been  invented  by  elocu- 
tionists. If  it  should  require  a  daily  drill,  during 
a  week  or  a  month,  to  attain  this  result,  the  time 
may  be  considered  as  very  profitably  expended. 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 63 

A  few  pieces  well  read,  during  one  school-term, 
will  do  more  to  establish  habits  of  correct  read- 
ing, than  the  mumbling  of  all  the  selections 
found  in  a  series  of  six  or  seven  School  Readers. 
The  multiplication  of  books  has  also  multiplied 
habits  of  careless  reading  and  superficial  in- 
struction on  the  subject  of  elocution.  There  is 
no  branch  of  common-school  learning,  in  which 
quality  and  quantity  are  more  widely  separated 
than  in  the  one  now  under  consideration.  It  is 
absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  make  good 
readers,  that  children  shall  be  required  to  read 
well  one  selection  before  they  are  allowed  to 
take  up  another.  It  may  require  days  and 
weeks  of  study  and  of  practice  to  become  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  the  meaning  of  one  simple 
composition,  and  the  proper  tones  of  voice  to 
fully  express  that  meaning.  It  is  better,  how- 
ever, to  continue  the  drill  in  one  piece  until 
every  part  of  it  is  thoroughly  mastered,  until  it 
is  comprehended  in  letter,  meaning  and  senti- 
ment ;  it  then  is  made  part  of  the  pupil's  intel- 
lectual possessions  ;  it  is  set  up  in  the  depart- 
ment of  judgment  as  a  standard ;  it  becomes  an 
ever-present  model,  up  to  which  the  possessor 
labors  to  bring  every  subsequent  effort  in 
elocution. 


164  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 


GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS. 

The  principle,  that  a  teacher  should  be  edu- 
cated in  all  branches  of  learning,  that  he  attempts 
to  teach,  far  beyond  the  requirements  of  his  class, 
is  so  well  established  that,  in  the  discussion  of 
all  topics,  it  is  assumed  as  a  fundamental  condi- 
tion. The  rules  given  on  the  subject  of  elocu- 
tion are  thus  deemed  sufficiently  practical  for 
the  purposes  of  a  common-school  education. 
Whether  the  teacher  has  attained  great  profi- 
ciency in  the  art  of  elocution,  or  whether  he  is 
simply  what  is  understood  by  the  phrase  "a 
good  reader,"  if  he  possesses  the  requisite  cul- 
ture the  position  he  occupies  demands,  he  will 
have  clear  ideas  on  the  subject  of  style,  posture, 
gesture  and  what  is  included  in  the  single  word, 
"  Delivery." 

First  of  all,  the  teacher  should  require  the 
members  of  his  class  to  rise  before  attempting 
to  read.  When  necessary,  he  should  give  in- 
structions to  guide  the  pupil  in  assuming  an 
easy  posture — not  a  stiff,  inflexible  position — 
standing  erect  and  firm.  The  book  should  be 
held  in  the  left  hand,  and  in  a  position  that  will 
enable  the  reader  to  distinctly  see  the  composi- 
tion which  he  is  about  to  read.  The  readin^f 
should  proceed  with  ease  and  fluency  of  utter- 
ance, and  such  modulation  of  voice  as  will  be 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  165 

agreeable  to  the  ear.  If  defects  of  voice  are 
detected  In  any  of  the  pupils,  the  teacher  should 
give  special  attention,  and,  by  repetition  of  suit- 
able exercises,  remove  the  defect  if  it  is  not  or- 
ganic. 

Self-examination  is  of  importance  to  both 
teachers  and  pupils.  Ordinarily  every  man  may 
be  his  own  best  critic ;  he  has  a  standard  of  ex- 
cellence of  his  own ;  he  knows  more  of  the  cir- 
cumstances, motives  and  purposes  governing  his 
action  than  any  one  else.  The  difficulty  is  that 
all  men  are  more  prone  to  criticise  other  peo- 
ple's action  than  their  own.  Before  attempting 
to  instruct  a  class  how  to  read  a  selection,  the 
teacher  should  read  it  himself,  should  criticise 
his  own  reading  by  carefully  comparing  the  ut- 
terance with  the  sense,  and  after  harmonizing 
the  two  as  nearly  as  it  is  possible  for  him  to  do, 
he  Is  prepared  to  meet  his  class.  Such  general 
instructions  should  be  given  to  the  Individual 
members  of  the  more  advanced  classes,  as  will 
enable  them  to  practice  self-examination  and 
self-criticism  In  conversation  and  in  reading. 

Men  frequently  correct  faulty  pronunciation 
or  clumsy  utterances  by  making  memorandums 
of  these  errors,  as  they  occur,  and  then,  by  a 
severe  and  frequent  drilling  of  the  vocal  organs 
when  alone,  overcome  them.  If  a  pupil  Is  in  the 
habit  of  reading  exceedingly  slow,  instruct  him 


1 66  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

to  practice  reading  aloud  when  at  home,  reading 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  timing  himself  by  the 
clock,  so  that  by  frequently  repeating  some 
familiar  selection  he  may  be  enabled  to  increase 
the  rate  of  speed  at  which  he  can  distinctly  utter 
the  words.  Attaining  the  ability  to  read  one 
piece  rapidly  will  effectually  break  the  habit  of 
slowness.  Reading  aloud  to  one's  companions 
or  when  alone  is  a  very  valuable  exercise,  and 
all  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  engage  in  it 
frequently.  The  ear  readily  detects  errors  or 
defects  of  voice  which,  by  perseverance,  may  be 
overcome,  but  which,  without  the  practice  of 
reading  aloud,  would  never  be  detected. 

It  very  often  occurs  that  far  too  much  import- 
ance is  attached  to  the  reading  of  poetiy.  If 
composition  in  verse  is  of  a  high  order,  the  sense 
is  very  often  not  so  easily  discovered  by  young 
pupils ;  the  sentiment  is  not  enjoyed,  and  thus 
the  exercise  is  very  often  merely  mechanical. 
More  success  will  be  achieved  by  practicing  the 
reading  of  prose  composition ;  it  will  be  more 
satisfactory  to  the  pupil.  His  attainments  can 
be  carried  into  immediate  practice.  Later  in 
life,  when  the  development  of  intellect  and  sen- 
sibility makes  it  possible  to  comprehend  the 
productions  of  the  best  poets,  the  transfer  of 
skill  in  prose  reading  will  be  easily  made. 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 6/ 


DECLAMATION. 

For  purposes  of  declamation  a  school  should 
be  so  divided  into  convenient  sections  as  to  ad- 
mit of  an  exercise  by  one  of  the  divisions  every 
week.  A  very  general  practice  is  to  set  apart 
half  a  day  in  a  month,  in  which  the  whole  school 
engages  in  exercises  of  declamation  and  compo- 
sition. The  practice  here  recommended  is,  .that 
an  hour  each  week  be  devoted  to  this  subject. 
This  will  in  no  way  interfere  with  the  lessons  of 
the  younger  children,  who  do  not  participate  in 
this  exercise.  It  will  in  no  sense  break  in  upon 
the  regular  order  of  the  school,  and  will  afford 
more  frequent  opportunity  for  instruction  and 
criticism.  Six  or  eicrht  declamations  migfht  be 
delivered  and  as  many  compositions  read  within 
an  hour,  so  as  to  allow  time  for  brief  and  pointed 
instruction.  The  duty  of  the  teacher,  here,  is  to 
instruct  his  pupils,  first,  in  the  selection  of  suit- 
able pieces  to  speak ;  second,  in  committing  a 
piece  to  memory;  third,* in  rehearsing  the  piece 
preparatory  to  speaking  it  on  the  stage. 

Selecting  Pieces. — Pupils  should  be  instructed 
to  select  from  good  authors,  whose  writings 
abound  in  wholesome  sentiment  and  correct 
teaching,  to  select  short  pieces,  and  to  select  com- 
position which^j«;;meaning,  style  and  sentiment, 
is  within  ttrcif^ceFn^f^heWon.  If  pupils  are 
i   UNIVERSITY  I 


l68  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

ambitious  to  speak  long  pieces,  this  ambition 
must  not  be  gratified  In  the  regular  exercises  of 
the  school :  on  occasions  of  festivals,  examina- 
tions or  exhibitions  these  more  extended  efforts 
may  be  permitted,  within  certain  limits ;  but  for 
the  regular  drill  exercises  of  the  school,  the 
teacher  must  Insist  that  all  pieces  be  short. 

Preparation. — A  piece  that  has  been  selected 
must  be  made  the  subject  of  careful  study ;  the 
pupil  should  thoroughly  comprehend  the  mean- 
ing of  the  composition  before  he  attempts  to  com- 
mit it  to  memory.  This  may  be  accomplished 
by  attentively  reading  It  over  and  studying  every 
part.  After  the  meaning  and  sentiment  are 
understood,  the  piece  should  be  committed  to 
memory ;  this  must  be  done  thoroughly,  so  that 
there  will  be  no  hesitation  in  reciting  every  word 
of  it,  from  beginning  to  end.  Thus  the  pupil 
may  make  the  language,  word  for  word,  and  the 
sentiment  throughout  the  whole  selection,  his 
own. 

Rehearsing, — Pupils  should  frequently  repeat 
the  pieces  aloud,  giving  the  proper  utterance..  In 
a  clear  and  distinct  articulation,  to  every  sylla- 
ble and  word.  When  this  can  be  done,  they 
may  be  spoken  from  the  platform  to  the  school. 

What  the  teacher  should  aim  to  establish  for 
his  pupils  is  the  ability  to  come  upon  the  stage 
with  ease  and  naturalness  of  step,  as  If  walking 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 69 

in  a  private  room ;  to  bow  to  the  audience  as  he 
would  to  an  acquaintance,  gracefully ;  to  stand 
in  an  easy,  natural  position ;  to  avoid  awkward- 1 
ness  and  stiffness ;  to  speak  as  if  the  words 
uttered  were  his  own,  and  as  if  he  wished  to 
convince  every  person  in  the  room,  that  he  be- 
lieved in  the  truth  of  every  sentiment  expressed 
in  the  composition.  Calmness,  deliberation, 
ease  and  grace  of  mien  may  be  cultivated  in 
these  exercises,  if  the  teacher  will  attentively 
mark  the  characteristics  of  each  little  speaker 
in  his  school,  correcting  the  defects  of  the  awk- 
ward, encouraging  the  efforts  of  the  timid,  re- 
pressing the  bombast  of  the  bold,  stimulating 
the  ambition  of  the  indifferent.  Thus  he  will,  by 
proper  attention  and  wise  criticism,  lift  many  of 
his  pupils  up  to  a  desirable  degree  of  proficiency 
in  the  art  of  declamation. 

An  elaborate  system  of  elocution  Is  out  of 
place  in  the  public  schools,  unless  special  classes 
are  organized  in  the  High  Schools  of  towns  and 
cities,  for  those  who  may  desire  to  enter  pro- 
fessions wherein  oratory  is  especially  useful. 
Teachers,  therefore,  are  cautioned  not  to  attempt 
too  much  in  the  way  of  declamation  in  mixed 
and  graded  schools.  There  is  danger  of  en- 
couraging and  of  cultivating  a  precocious  de- 
velopment, and  of  exciting  ambitions  that  will 
draw  away  the  attention  of  pupils  from  their 

15 


I/O  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

weightier  studies  in  these  exercises.  They  must 
be  kept  within  proper  limits  ;  the  instruction  must 
be  pointed  and  practical,  and  the  criticisms  must 
be  mild  and  persuasive.  The  object  of  declama- 
tion in  schools  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  ♦  It  is 
to  cultivate  such  confidence  in  the  presence  of 
audiences,  that  will  enable  men  to  speak  with 
ease,  force  and  clearness  their  sentiments,  on 
subjects  they  may  be  called  upon  to  discuss. 

COMPOSITION. 

Reading  lessons  may  be  used  to  illustrate 
the  principles  of  composition  writing.  A  com- 
position, like  a  sentence,  must  have  a  subject. 
This  subject  is  to  be  described,  defined  or  ex- 
plained. Descriptive  composition  is  most  natu- 
ral and  easy  for  young  pupils.  Describe  what 
Is  known :  a  building,  a  tree,  a  farm,  a  cave,  a 
lake,  a  factory,  a  grove.  Relate  what  Is  known : 
the  incidents  of  a  journey  actually  made  by  the 
writer,  what  occurred  at  a  meeting,  at  the  post- 
office.  In  the  village,  in  the  church,  in  the  school,  in 
harvest-time,  in  winter,  in  summer.  Pupils  should 
avoid  abstractions,  select  subjects  for  composi- 
tions from  objects  of  sense,  from  things  and  scenes 
observed,  beginning  with  the  most  simple  and 
advancing  to  the  more  complex.  The  teacher 
should  guide  and  encourage,  even  the  smallest 
efforts,  by  gentle  and  suggestive  criticisms. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.— Continued. 


"  ARITHMETIC. 

RITHMETIC  consists  of  explanations 
of  principles  and  the  application  of 
those  principles  in  operations  of  nu- 
merical combinations.  The  study  of 
mathematics  has  two  uses :  First,  to  establish 
familiarity  with  numbers  and  to  teach  their  ap- 
plication in  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life  ;  second, 
to  discipline  the  mind  by  exercising  it  upon 
mathematical  combinations.  The  scope' of  pub- 
lic schools  limits  the  study  of  mathematics  chiefly 
to  the  first  of  these  uses.  Mathematics  cannot 
be  studied  solely  for  purposes  of  discipline  in 
public  schools,  without  excluding  studies  which 
are  more  useful  to  the  masses,  and  which  serve 
equally  for  purposes  of  discipline.  This  prin- 
ciple has  been  fully  discussed  in  another  part 
of  this  work. 

Arithmetic,    then,    is    studied    in    the    public 

171 


172  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

schools  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in  the 
minds  of  the  pupils  a  knowledge  of  the  proper- 
ties of  numbers  and  their  application  in  the  con- 
cerns of  life. 

The  fundamental  rules  of  arithmetic  are — No- 
tation and  Numeration,  Addition,  Subtraction, 
Multiplication  and  Division. 

These  fundamental  rules  find  numerous  and 
varied  applications  in  arithmetical  combinations. 
Combinations  may  be  carried  to  an  almost 
unlimited  degree  of  complexity,  so  that  it  is  an 
easy  task  to  multiply  examples  in,  and  to  in- 
crease the  size  and  number  of  books  on  this 
subject.  Arithmetic  stands  at  the  beginning  of 
a  course  of  mathematics. 

NOTATION    AND    NUMERATION. 

When  a  child  enters  school,  he  possesses  some 
knowledge  which  has  been  obtained  by  obser- 
vation. *  He  distinguishes  between  one  apple 
and  two  apples,  perhaps  between  four  apples 
and  five  apples.  He  may  be  able  to  count 
orally  ten  or  twenty,  or  beyond  this.  Whatever 
the  degree  of  knowledge,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
teacher  to  ascertain  the  point  where  it  ends, 
and  precisely  there  is  the  place  to  begin  in- 
struction. In  order  to  continue  a  familiar  pro- 
cess of  acquiring  knowledge,  teachers  should  di- 
rect the  children  to  provide  themselves  with  some 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1/3 

small  objects  to  be  used  in  counting.  Beans, 
corn  or  small  pebbles  will  answer  the  purpose. 

A  class  of  beginners  should  be  arranged  about 
a  table,  each  member  with  his  counters  before 
him.  If  all  the  members  of  the  class  are  suffi- 
ciently advanced,  the  teacher  may  require  them 
to  count  out  twenty  objects,  moving  one  object 
as  each  number  is  named.  The  twenty  objects 
counted  may  be  separated  by  the  pupils  into 
sets  of  two  each,  and  thus  they  will  see  how 
many  twos  there  are  in  twenty.  They  may  be 
separated  into  sets  of  ten  each,  and  the  pupils 
will  see  how  many  tens  there  are  in  twenty. 
This  exercise  may  be  varied  to  any  extent  that 
the  teacher  may  deem  proper  or  that  the  cir- 
cumstances may  require.  By  the  use  of  the 
blackboard,  the  teacher  may  illustrate  the  oper- 
ations performed  by  the  pupils  with  their  coun- 
ters, and  thus  the  children  will  learn  to  associ- 
ate the  figures  on  the  board  with  the  number  of 
objects  before  them. 

Pupils  who  studied  the  alphabet,  spelling  and 
pronunciation  by  the  use  of  the  slate  and  pencil 
will  already  be  familiar  with  the  forms  and 
meaning  of  numerals,  at  least  from  one  to  nine. 
If  they  have  not  been  thus  drilled  in  the  use  of 
slate  and  pencil,  they  will  require  some  special 
teaching,  and  the  slate  and  pencil  should  at  once 
be  introduced.     The  children  may  be  required 

15* 


1/4  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

to  write  upon  their  slates  numbers  representing 
objects  exhibited  by  the  teacher.  The  "arith- 
metical frame"  may  be  employed  to  exhibit  num- 
bers and  combinations  of  numbers,  which  the 
children  may  write  upon  their  slates.  A  gen- 
eral class  drill  may  also  be  carried  on  by  the 
use  of  the  blackboard ;  the  teacher  may  rapidly 
draw  a  number  of  small  circles,  or  make  straight 
marks ;  he  may  remove  some  and  draw  others, 
questioning  the  class  all  the  while,  so  that  it  will 
state  correctly  the  number  of  strokes  or  circles 
on  the  board.  As  soon  as  the  pupils  are  able 
to  associate  the  written  characters  with  the  num- 
ber of  objects,  they  are  prepared  to  engage 
regularly  in  written  exercises  in  Notation  and 
Numeration. 

Schools  should  be  supplied  with  a  series  of 
small  charts  containing,  in  large  and  distinct 
print,  combinations  of  figures.  The  first  chart 
should  contain  in  one  column  all  from  one  to 
nine,  in  other  columns  from  ten  to  nineteen,  from 
twenty  to  twenty-nine,  etc.,  to  ninety-nine.  The 
second  chart  might  contain  numbers  from  one 
hundred  to  nine  hundred,  and  from  one  thousand 
to  nine  thousand. 

In  the  lessons  upon  the  first  chart  the  teacher 
will  instruct  the  class,  how  any  number  of  ob- 
jects, from  one  to  nine,  may  be  represented  by 
a  single  figure,  and  that  all  numbers  over  nine 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1/5 

require  more  than  one  figure  to  express  them. 
The  pupils  are  supposed  to  have  with  them  a 
supply  of  counters.  They  should  first  be  re- 
quired to  count  ten  of  these,  and  lay  them  in  one 
place  on  the  table,  then  to  count  another  ten 
and  lay  it  on  the  table.  The  teacher  may  illus- 
trate on  the  blackboard  that  the  figure  one 
and  a  cipher  represent  ten,  and  that  when  two 
tens  are  brought  together,  instead  of  writing 
one  ten  twice,  the  figure  two  is  substituted  for 
the  figure  one,  and  that  twenty  is  two  tens.  The 
meaning  of  thirty,  forty,  fifty,  etc.,  may  be  ex- 
plained in  the  same  way,  and  this  is  deemed 
sufficient  for  the  first  exercise. 

In  the  second  lesson  the  teacher  should  ex- 
plain how  one  ten  and  one  unit  make  eleven. 
Here  the  little  objects  may  again  be  employed. 
Ten  are  counted  out,  and  one  ten  is  written  upon 
the  blackboard,  then  a  single  object  is  taken  and 
placed  by  the  side  of  ten,  and  the  teacher  ex- 
plains that  the  mode  of  writing  this  on  the  board 
is  to  remove  the  cipher  and  place  a  unit  in  the 
position  the  cipher  occupied;  then  the  one  on  the 
left  represents  one  ten  and  the  one  on  the  right 
one  unit;  one  ten  and  one  unit  are  eleven  units. 
Other  numbers  up  to  twenty  may  be' constructed 
and  explained  in  like  manner.  Twenty  is  two 
tens;  two  tens  and  one  unit  make  twenty-one 
units,  the  cipher  being  again  removed  to  make 


176  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL.  ' 

room  for  the  unit.  The  counters  in  the  hands  of 
the  pupils  may  be  employed  to  illustrate  the 
meaning  of  this  combination.  The  same  method 
is  carried  through  to  ninety-nine.  One  hundred 
is  ten  tens,  and  one  hundred  and  one  is  ten  tens 
and  one  unit ;  with  slight  variation  the  same 
devices  employed  to  give  pupils  the  idea  of 
combinations  below  one  hundred  will  be  equally 
applicable  in  the  construction  of  numbers  above 
one  hundred.  These  lessons  in  Notation  and 
Numeration  should  be  transferred  by  the  pupils 
to  their  slates.  The  charts  can  be  so  placed 
that  the  pupils  can  copy  from  them  while  occu- 
pying their  seats. 

ADDITION. 

Whilst  teaching  Notation  and  Numeration, 
operations  of  Addition  and  Subtraction  will  be 
carried  on  to  such  an  extent  that  the  pupils  will 
be  fully  prepared  to  enter  regularly  upon  the 
work  of  adding  numbers.  All  arithmetics  used 
in  the  public  schools  begin  with  simple  combi- 
nations of  numbers,  so  that  in  the  first  exam- 
ples the  sum  of  the  column  added  is  always 
less  than  nine.  Pupils  are  supposed  to  possess 
such  books.  The  teacher  is  required  to  explain 
the  principles  of  Addition  from  the  blackboard. 
The  first  idea  to  be  impressed  upon  the  pupil  is 
that  only  things  of  the  same  kind  can  be  added 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1/7 

together.  Thus,  if  in  the  class  one  boy  has  a 
bag  of  corn  and  another  a  number  of  pebbles 
to  be  used  as  counters,  five  pebbles  and  four 
grains  of  corn  will  not  make  nine  pebbles  or 
nine  grains  of  corn.  This  illustration  is  useful 
to  explain  that  five  units  and  four  tens  cannot 
be  added  so  as  to  make  nine  tens  or  nine  units. 
Units  must  be  added  to  units  and  tens  must  be 
added  to  tens.  If  Notation  and  Numeration 
have  been  thoroughly  taught,  the  pupils  under- 
stand that  when  two  figures  are  placed  side  by 
side  the  left-hand  figure  is  tens,  and,  therefore, 
if  in  adding  the  column  the  sum  is  expressed  in 
two  figures,  the  figure  on  the  right  hand  is  units 
and  that  on  the  left  is  tens,  and  as  the  column 
added  is  units  and  the  next  on  the  left  is  tens, 
the  number  representing  tens  in  the  sum  must 
be  added  to  the  column  of  tens.  This  is  the 
whole  subject.  The  lesson  must  be  enforced 
by  a  variety  of  illustrations  sufficient  to  impress 
it  upon  the  mind  of  the  pupil. 

SUBTRACTION. 

No  principles  are  employed  in  the  operations 
of  Subtraction  that  are  not  taught  in  the  opera- 
tions of  Addition.  The  question  for  the  pupil 
to  settle  is,  how  many  units  must  be  added  to 
the  subtrahend  to  make  it  equal  to  the  minuend. 
This,  in  all  examples,  in  which  each  figure  in  the 

M 


1/8  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL, 

minuend  Is  larger  than  the  one  Immediately  un- 
der It,  Is  all  that  the  pupil  Is  required  to  deter- 
mine ;  but  when  some  figure  In  the  minuend  Is 
smaller  than  the  one  standing  Immediately  under 
It,  the  operation  of  taking  one  unit  from  the  next 
figure  on  the  left  and  adding  it  to  the  figure  that 
is  too  small,  thereby  increasing  it  by  ten,  must 
be  explained.  This  is  a  reversal  of  the  opera- 
tion learned  In  Addition.  The  fact  that  the  fig- 
ure standing  on  the  left  represents  ten  times 
as  much  as  the  same  figure  would  if  standing 
on  the  right,  is  again  called  up.  When  the 
figure  on  the  left  is  carried  over  to  the  column 
on  the  right,  it  loses  none  of  its  value;  therefore 
the  figure  In  the  subtrahend  Is  subtracted  from 
the  figure  in  the  minuend  Increased  by  ten  units. 
When  the  next  fiofure  in  the  subtrahend  is  to  be 
taken  from  the  figure  above  it,  the  fact,  that  the 
upper  figure  has  been  diminished  by  taking  one 
from  it  to  add  to  the  figure  on  the  right,  must 
be  recognized — that  Is,  the  figure  is  now  treated 
as  representing  units,  and  as  one  unit  was  bor- 
rowed from  it,  which  made  ten  when  it  was 
added,  it  Is  now  treated  as  diminished  by  the 
subtraction  of  one.  This  may  be  Illustrated,  if 
necessary,  by  the  use  of  the  pupil's  counters. 
If  the  minuend  consists  of  three  tens  and  two 
units,  and  the  subtrahend  of  one  ten  and  four 
units,  these   numbers    may  be   counted  out  in 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  I79 

beans  ;  if  from  three  tens,  which- may  consist  of 
three  sets  of  beans  of  ten  each,  one  set  is  re- 
moved, and  its  ten  units  are  added  to  the  two 
units,  from  which  the  pupil  is  required  to  sub- 
tract four  units,  there  will  be  ten  units  and  two 
units,  which  make  twelve  units,  and  by  taking 
away  four  beans  it  is  demonstrated  that  eight 
beans,  or  units,  remain.  Now,  in  the  place  where 
there  had  been  three  sets  of  tens  only  two  sets 
remain,  and  from  these  two  sets  of  ten  beans 
each  one  ten  is  to  be  subtracted,  which  leaves 
one  ten ;  one  ten  and  eight  units  is  therefore 
written  as  the  answer. 

MULTIPLICATION. 

The  operations  in  Multiplication  proceed  on 
exactly  the  same  principles  as  those  in  Ad- 
dition ;  instead  of  adding  one  number  to  an- 
other, it  is  now  required  to  add  a  number  to 
itself  a  given  number  of  times  ;  the  multiplicand 
is  to  be  added  to  itself  as  many  times,  less  one, 
as  there  are  units  in  the  multiplier.  The  pupils 
should  be  taught  to  construct  a  multiplication- 
table  by  the  aid  of  their  counters.  Thus  a  boy 
with  a  quantity  of  beans  may  ascertain  for  him- 
self how  many  two  times  one  are,  how  many  two 
times  two  are,  how  many  two  times  three  are, 
and  how  many  two  times  four  are ;  by  the  same 
process,  how  many  five  times  two  are,  how  many 


l80  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

five  times  seven  are.  The  teacher  should  direct 
the  pupils  to  carry  on  these  operations  in  regu- 
lar order,  to  rule  their  slates  properly,  and  to 
write  upon  them  their  conclusions ;  in  this  man- 
ner they  will  be  able  to  construct  a  complete 
multiplication-table,  from  two  times  one  to 
twelve  times  twelve.  When  this  table  shall 
have  been  completed  and  approved  by  the 
teacher,  it  may  be  copied  by  the  pupils  upon 
paper.  Thus  all  may  be  taught  how  the  mul- 
tiplication-table is  constructed.  Pupils  will  more 
readily  and  eagerly  commit  to  memory  what 
they  have  themselves  produced,  and  will  sur- 
prise their  parents  and  fi-iends  by  communicat- 
ing the  fact  to  them  that  they  have  made  a  mul- 
tiplication-table just  like  the  one  in  the  book. 
The  application  of  this  table  is  the  end  of  the 
exercises  in  Multiplication. 

DIVISION. 

Operations  in  Division  are  also  similar  to  those 
taught  in  Addition.  The  pupils  are  required  to 
ascertain  how  many  times  the  divisor  must  be 
added  to  itself  in  order  to  make  it  equal  to  the 
dividend,  and  the  number  that  indicates  how 
many  times  this  must  be  done  is  called  the  quo- 
tient. Or,  to  employ  the  training  obtained  in  the 
construction  and  use  of  the  multiplication-table, 
the  question  is,  how  many  times  must  the  divisor 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  l8l 

be  multiplied  in  order  to  equal  the  dividend? 
When  there  are  several  figures  in  the  dividend, 
and  the  divisor  is  not  contained  a  number  of 
times  into  any  one  of  these  without  a  remainder, 
how  that  remainder  is  added  as  tens  to  the  next 
figure  on  the  right  as  units  must  be  explained. 
This  may  be  done,  if  it  is  deemed  necessary,  by 
the  use  of  the  counters. 

These  are  called  the  fundamental  rules  of 
arithmetic.  Pupils  should  be  drilled  in  solving 
problems  involving  these  rules,  unembarrassed 
by  any  other  principles  or  combinations,  until 
they  are  thoroughly  familiar  with  them.  Teach- 
ers should  make  it  an  invariable  practice  not  to 
allow  pupils  to  advance  beyond  the  examples 
under  these  rules  until  this  groundwork  is 
thoroughly  performed.  All  subsequent  opera- 
tions in  numbers  consist  simply  in  the  variations 
of  the  combinations  and  applications  of  these 
rules.  Facility  in  their  use,  therefore,  will  be  of 
advantage  throughout  the  study  of  mathematics. 

DENOMINATE    NUMBERS. 

The  school  arithmetics  in  common  use  usu- 
ally introduce,  immediately  after  the  fundamental 
rules,  tables  of  currency,  weights  and  measures, 
and  the  examples  presented  for  solution  employ 
numbers  denoting  currency  value,  weight  and 
measure.     It  may  be  proper,  at  this  point,  to 

16 


1 82  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

introduce  the  subject  of  the  currency  of  the 
United  States  and  the  weights  and  measures 
employed  in  the  ordinary  business  transactions 
of  the  country.  All  other  tables  should  be  de- 
ferred to  the  closing  portion  of  the  common- 
school  arithmetic.  What  is  to  be  introduced 
here,  then,  is  a  table  of  the  currency  of  the 
United  States,  a  table  of  avoirdupois  weights,  a 
table  of  dry  and  a  table  of  liquid  measure,  and 
tables  of  linear  measurements  ;  tables  of  foreign 
currency,  apothecaries'  weight  and  troy  weight, 
and  such  other  technicalities  as  are  sometimes 
introduced  in  arithmetics,  should  not  be  pre- 
sented to  the  pupil  at  this  early  stage  of  his 
progress.  In  view  of  the  efforts  now  being 
made  by  the  leading  nations  of  the  world  to  re- 
duce to  one  system  the  weights  and  measures 
used  in  mercantile  transactions,  the  metric  sys- 
tem, which  seems  to  meet  with  general  favor 
and  is  the  one  most  likely  to  be  adopted,  may 
properly  find  place  in  the  arithmetic,  nearer  the 
end  of  the  book,  however,  than  the  subject  now 
under  consideration.  It  will  require  no  special 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  to  introduce 
these  denominate  numbers,  inasmuch  as  at  the 
beginning  of  the  instruction  in  arithmetic  de- 
nominate numbers  were  first  used  in  the  case 
of  the  beans,  corn  and  pebbles  brought  to  school 
by  the  children. 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  I83 

Those  absurdities  in  modern  arithmetics  in- 
vented in  early  times,  when  it  was  useful  to 
know  how  to  reduce  a  given  sum  from  one  cur- 
rency to  another,  or  from  a  given  weight  to  an- 
other, which  are  now  of  no  possible  use,  should 
be  excluded  from  common-school  arithmetics,  or 
when  found  there  should  be  passed  over  without 
notice. 

FRACTIONS. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  delightful 
portions  of  arithmetic  is  the  subject  of  fractions 
when  it  is  logically  presented  and  clearly  de- 
monstrated in  all  its  principles.  When  it  is 
bunglingly  presented,  without  proper  explana- 
tions or  demonstration,  it  is  one  of  the  most  dif- 
ficult, embarrassing,  tedious  and  discouraging 
passages  in  the  study  of  mathematics.  In  pre- 
senting the  subject  of  fractions  to  a  class,  the 
teacher  should  occupy  the  time  of  the  first  reci- 
tation in  demonstrating,  by  numerous  devices, 
so  that  each  member  of  the  class  will  clearly 
comprehend,  first,  what  a  fraction  is ;  secondly, 
what  the  numerator  is ;  third,  what  the  denomi- 
nator is ;  fourth,  the  relations  of  the  numerator 
and  denominator  to  the  unit;  and  fifth,  the  re- 
lations of  the  numerator  and  denominator  to 
each  other. 

What  is  a  Fraction? — ^The  definition  tells  us 
a  fraction  is  part  of  a  unit.     The  teacher  may 


l84  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

have  on  his  desk  an  apple  and  a  knife ;  he  may 
divide  the  apple  into  two  equal  parts,  and  say 
to  his  class,  *'  This  apple  is  a  unit ;  if  I  divide  it 
into  two  equal  parts,  one  of  these  parts  is  called 
pne-half ;  if  I  divide  one  of  these  halves  into  two 
equal  parts,  one  of  these  parts  will  be  one-fourth 
of  a  unit,  or  apple."  Using  the  blackboard,  the 
teacher  may  write  |,  which  represents  a  part  of 
the  unit,  and  is  therefore  a  fraction.  He  may 
write  J,  which  represents  a  part  of  a  unit,  and 
is  therefore  a  fraction  ;  the  subdivision  of  the 
unit  may  be  carried  forward  by  dividing  the 
parts  of  the  apple  as  far  as  practicable,  carrying 
the  notation  on  the  blackboard  parallel  with  the 
division  of  the  object.  Thus  the  idea  of  a  frac- 
tion will  be  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the 
pupils. 

The  Numerator  and  Denominator. — Now  let 
the  teacher  take  up  two  parts  of  the  divided 
apple,  two-fourdis,  if  they  remain,  or  if  not,  a 
second  apple  may  be  divided  for  this  purpose; 
going  to  the  blackboard,  he  will  illustrate  the 
manner  of  writing  j,  the  manner  of  writing  j, 
the  manner  of  writing  |  and  |,  enforcing  the 
idea  now,  that  the  figure  below  the  line,  called 
the  denominator,  shows  into  how  many  parts 
the  unit  has  been  divided,  and  the  upper  figure, 
which  is  called  the  numerator,  shows  how  many 
of  these  parts  of  the  unit  are  expressed  in  the 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 85 

fraction.  Thus,  when  the  apple  is  divided  into 
two  equal  parts,  the  denominator  is  2  ;  when  it  is 
divided  into  four  equal  parts,  the  denominator  is 
4 ;  when  it  is  divided  into  eight  equal  parts,  the 
denominator  is  8.  When  one  of  these  parts,  is 
to  be  represented,  the  figure  i  is  used  as  a 
numerator,  as,  f,  7,  f ;  when  two  of  these  parts 
are  to  be  expressed,  the  numerator  is  2,  as, 
£.  ^  ^ 

r  4'  8' 

The  denominator  also  indicates  the  size  of  the 
parts.  In  the  fractions  |,  ^,  |,  the  denominator 
2  shows  that  the  unit  is  divided  into  two  equal 
parts,  and  that,  therefore,  one  of  the  parts  is 
half  of  the  unit ;  the  denominator  4  shows  that 
the  unit  is  divided  into  four  equal  parts,  and, 
therefore,  one  of  these  parts  is  a  fourth  of  the 
unit.  It  is,  therefore,  seen  that  |  is  larger  than 
7,  and  that  |-  is  smaller  than  7,  and  still  smaller 
than  |. 

The  relation  of  the  Numerator  and  Denomi- 
nator to  the  Unit. — It  has  been  demonstrated 
that  the  denominator  of  a  fraction  shows  the 
number  of  parts  into  which  the  unit  is  divided, 
and  also  the  size  of  the  parts ;  that  the  numer- 
ator represents  the  number  of  these  parts  in- 
cluded in  the  fraction ;  therefore,  as  the  denomi- 
nator increases,  the  size  of  the  parts  of  the  unit 
diminishes,  and  hence  the  fraction  diminishes. 
The  reverse  of  this  is  true  of  the  numerator,  as 

16* 


1 86  .     ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

the  numerator  represents  the  number  of  parts 
of  the  unit  that  are  expressed  by  the  fraction ; 
the  increase  of  the  numerator  increases  the 
number  of  parts,  the  size  of  which  remains  the 
same,  that  are  to  be  included  in  the  fraction, 
and,  therefore,  the  increase  of  the  numerator  in- 
creases the  value  of  the  fraction.  By  increasing 
the  fraction  is  meant  bringing  the  value  or  size 
of  the  part  it  expresses  more  nearly  to  that  of 
the  unit.  That  is,  the  parts  or  the  sum  of  the 
parts  are  made  more  nearly  equal  to  the  whole. 

This  lesson  should  be  illustrated  by  dividing 
and  sub-dividing  an  apple  or  other  convenient 
object,  and  combining  the  parts  so  as  to  en- 
force it  upon  the  mind  of  the  pupil,  and  thus  the 
principle  is  brought  out  that  the  value  of  a  frac- 
tion is  increased  by  increasing  the  numerator, 
or  by  decreasing  the  denominator,  and  that  the 
value  of  a  fraction  is  decreased  by  diminishing 
the  numerator  or  increasing  the  denominator. 

The  relation  of  Numerator  and  Denominator 
to  each  other. — When  a  unit  has  been  divided 
into  a  number  of  parts,  and  several  of  these 
parts  are  to  be  represented,  it  will  frequently 
occur  that  both  numerator  and  denominator  may 
be  diminished  without  affecting  the  value  of  the 
fraction.  Thus,  suppose  the  unit  has  been  di- 
vided into  eight  equal  parts,  and  it  is  pro- 
posed to  represent  six  of  these  parts ;  this  will 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 8/ 

require  the  form  |,  but  |  is  the  same  in  value 
as  ^.  For  practical  purposes  it  is  convenient  to 
express  fractions  in  the  lowest  possible  terms. 
Now  it  has  already  been  explained  that  dimin- 
ishing the  numerator  decreases  the  value  of  the 
fraction,  and  diminishing  the  denominator  in- 
creases the  value  of  the  fraction  in  the  same 
ratio.  If,  therefore,  the  numerator  6  be  divided 
by  2,  and  the  denominator  8  be  divided  by  2,  the 
result  will  be  j;  and  thus  the  principle  is  de- 
duced that  multiplying  or  dividing  both  the  nu- 
merator and  denominator  by  the  same  number 
will  not  alter  the  value  of  the  fraction. 

OPERATIONS  IN  FRACTIONS. 

With  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  principles 
just  explained,  pupils  will  experience  but  little 
difficulty  in  performing  operations  in  fractions. 

Reduction  of  Fractions. — In  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  study  of  arithmetic,  pupils  are  taught 
that  only  such  numbers  as  represent  the  same 
things  can  be  added  to  each  other.  This  prin- 
ciple applies  throughout  all  arithmetical  pro- 
cesses. The  denominator  of  a  fraction  shows 
the  number  of  parts  into  which  the  unit  has  been 
divided.  In  attempting  to  add  or  subtract  frac- 
tions, it  is  necessary  first  to  bring  them  to  the 
same  denomination,  thus,  |  and  |,  if  added  to 
each  other,  would  not  make  fourths,  or  eighths. 


1 88  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

or  twelfths ;  they  must  be  brought  to  the  same 
denomination  before  they  can  be  added.  Ap- 
plying the  principle  that  the  value  of  the  fraction 
is  not  changed  by  multiplying  the  numerator 
and  denominator  by  the  same  number,  it  is  seen 
that  J  may  be  reduced  to  |,  and  the  problem 
will  then  be  to  add  |  to  |,  which  give  |. 

If  the  problem  had  been  one  of  subtraction, 
the  same  process  of  reduction  would  have  been 
necessary,  |  from  |  would  leave  |.  The  only 
element,  therefore,  entering  into  addition  and 
subtraction  of  fractions,  which  is  not  employed 
in  adding  and  subtracting  units,  is  the  element 
of  the  reduction  to  the  same  denomination : 
I  are  added  to  |  in  the  same  way  that  three 
beans  are  added  to  six  beans ;  in  one  case  the 
sum  is  nine-eighths,  and,  in  the  other,  nine  beans. 

Multiplication  of  Fractions. — If  a  fraction  is 
to  be  multiplied  by  a  whole  number,  it  is  re- 
quired to  increase  the  fraction  as  many  times  as 
there  are  units  in  the  whole  number  by  which  it 
is  to  be  multiplied.  The  pupil  knows  already 
that  a  fraction  may  be  increased  by  multiply- 
ing the  numerator  or  by  dividing  the  denomi- 
nator. If  J  is  to  be  multiplied  by  2,  this  may 
be  accomplished  either  by  multiplying  the  nu- 
merator I  and  writing  the  result  thus,  7,  or  by 
dividing  the  denominator  by  2  and  writing  the 
result  thus,  \,     In  order  to  express  the  fraction 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 89 

In  its  lowest  terms,  the  latter  process  is  prefer- 
able in  all  cases  where  the  denominator  is  divis- 
ible without  a  remainder  by  the  multiplier. 

If  it  is  required  to  multiply  a  whole  number 
by  a  fraction,  as,  to  multiply  6  by  j,  the  teacher 
should  explain  that  the  process  will  be  the  mul- 
tiplication of  6  by  -  of  3  ;  therefore,  if  6  be  mul- 
tiplied by  the  numerator  3,  the  product  will  be  four 
times  too  large,  because  the  multiplier  given  is 
hot  3,  but  only  -  of  3.  It  must  therefore  be  re- 
duced by  dividing  it  by  4.  Pupils  should  be 
required  to  perform  solutions  of  such  examples, 
and  to  state  the  reason  for  each  step,  in  the  pro- 
cess. 

If  it  is  required  to  multiply  a  fraction  by  a 
fraction,  it  is  necessary  to  state  to  the  class  that 
the  multiplicand  is  to  be  multiplied  by  such  part 
of  the  numerator  of  the  multiplier  as  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  denominator  of  the  multiplier ; 
thus,  if  -  is  to  be  multiplied  by  |,  the  requirement 
is  to  multiply  j  by  |  of  2.  If  ^  be  multiplied  by 
2,  which  may  be  done  by  multiplying  the  nume- 
rator by  2,  giving  |,  the  product  is  as  many  times 
too  large  as  there  are  units  in  the  denominator 
of  the  multiplier — that  is,  in  this  case  it  is  five 
times  too  large.  It  must,  therefore,  be  reduced 
to  that  extent.  This  can  be  accomplished  by 
dividing  the  product  by  five.  The  fraction  may 
be   divided    by   multiplying   the    denominator. 


190  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

Doing  this,  the  result  is  ^  or  -J-.  This  rule  is 
therefore  deduced,  that  a  fraction  is  multiplied 
by  a  fraction  by  multiplying  the  numerators 
together  for  a  new  numerator  and  the  denomi- 
nators together  for  a  new  denominator.  The 
product  should  always  be  reduced  to  its  lowest 
terms. 

Division  of  Fractions. — The  teacher  should 
demonstrate  on  the  blackboard  the  processes  in 
the  division  of  fractions.  To  divide  a  fraction  by 
a  whole  number,  the  purpose  is  to  decrease  the 
fraction  as  many  times,  less  one,  as  there  are  units 
in  the  divisor.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that 
a  fraction  may  be  decreased  by  diminishing  the 
numerator  or  by  increasing  the  denominator. 
This  has  already  been  sufficiently  explained. 

To  divide  a  whole  number  by  a  fraction,  it  is 
required  to  decrease  the  whole  number  as  many 
times,  less  one,  as  there  are  units  in  a  divisor, 
which  itself  stands  in  the  relation  of  a  dividend 
to  another  divisor — that  is,  if  6  is  to  be  divided 
by  |,  it  is  required  to  divide  6  by  |  of  3.  If, 
therefore,  6  is  divided  by  3,  the  quotient  2  is  five 
times  too  small,  because  the  divisor  used  is;  that 
many  times  too  large;  it  must,  therefore,  be  mul- 
tiplied by  5,  the  result  being  10. 

When  a  fraction  is  to  be  divided  by  a  fraction, 
the  requirement  is  the  same  as  when  a  whole 
number  is  to  be  divided  by  a  fraction.     But  tb^. 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  IQI 

application  of  the  principle  Involves  also  the  di- 
vision of  a  fraction,  and  this  fraction  is  to  be 
divided  by  such  part  of  the  numerator  of  the 
divisor  as  is  expressed  by  the  denominator.  If 
7  is  to  be  divided  by  |,  it  is  required  to  divide  - 
by  -  of  2  ;  I  may  be  divided  by  2  by  multiplying 
the  denominator  by  that  number,  which  gives  ^, 
but  inasmuch  as  it  is  required  to  divide  j  by  only 
-  of  2,  the  quotient  is  necessarily  five  times  too 
small,  and  must,  therefore,  be  increased  to  that 
extent.  A  fraction  is  increased  by  multiplying 
the  numerator ;  by  applying  this  principle  the 
result  is  —-.  Thus  the  rule  is  deduced,  that  a 
fraction  is  divided  by  a  fraction  by  multiplying 
the  denominator  of  the  dividend  by  the  numer- 
ator of  the  divisor,  and  by  multiplying  the  num- 
erator of  the  dividend  by  the  denominator  of  the 
divisor.  Of  course,  in  all  cases  in  which  the 
numerator  and  denominator  of  the  dividend  are 
divisible,  without  remainder,  by  the  numerator 
and  denominator  of  the  divisor,  that  is  the  direct 
process. 

PROPORTION. 

The  definitions  of  Ratio  and  Proportion, 
usually  found  In  the  school  arithmetics,  are 
sufficiently  accurate  for  the  purposes  of  the 
following  explanation.  The  teacher  is  supposed 
to  be  familiar  with  these  definitions.  In  pre- 
senting the  subject  to  his  class,  he  proceeds  to 


192  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

deduce,  by  processes  within  the  comprehension 
of  the  pupils,  the  principles  of  proportion,  and 
the  rules  by  which  proportions  are  constructed 
and  solved.  He  writes  upon  the  blackboard 
two  numbers,  as  6  and  3 ;  by  division,  3  is 
contained  in  6  twice.  This  relation  between  6 
and  3  is  called  ratio,  and  is  expressed  by  the 
figure  2.  If  the  numbers  8  and  4  are  written 
upon  the  board,  the  same  relation  or  ratio  will 
be  found  to  exist  between  them,  and  may  also 
be  expressed  by  the  figure  2.  That  is,  the  rela- 
tion between  6  and  3  is  the  same  as  between  8 
and  4.  The  ratios  are  equal.  The  teacher  may 
explain,  that  when  two  numbers  are  placed  in 
such  relation  to  each  other,  the  first  is  called  the 
antecedent  and  the  second  the  consequent ;  the 
two  terms  when  taken  together  are  called  a 
couplet.  Ratios  exist  only  between  numbers 
of  the  same  kind,  or  between  abstract  numbers. 
It  would  not  be  proper  to  say  that  the  ratio 
between  6  apples  and  3  turnips  is  the  same 
as  between  8  boys  and  4  girls.  If  the  num- 
bers are  denominate  numbers,  the  antecedent 
and  consequent  of  a  couplet  must  be  of  the 
same  denomination. 

When  ratios  are  equal,  this  fact  is  usually  ex- 
pressed by  placing  them  opposite  to  each  other, 
thus,  6  :  3  : :  8  :  4,  and  this  formula  expresses  the 
equality  of  ratios — that  is,  the  relation  of  6  to  3 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 93 

is  equal  to  the  relation  of  8  to  4.  When  thus 
written,  the  one  on  the  left  is  called  the  first 
couplet,  and  that  on  the  right  the  second  coup- 
let, and  the  formula  thus  expressed  is  called  a 
proportion.  A  proportion,  therefore,  is  an 
equality  of  ratios.  The  first  and  the  fourth 
terms  are  called  the  extremes,  and  the  second 
and  third  the  means,  of  the  proportion.  These 
terms  in  every  proportion  sustain  such  a  rela- 
tion to  each  other,  that  the  product  of  the  means 
is  always  equal  to  the  product  of  the  extremes. 
If,  therefore,  one.  of  the  means  or  one  of  the  ex- 
tremes of  a  proportion  is  wanting,  it  can  be 
found  by  dividing  the  product  of  the  extremes 
by  the  given  mean,  or,  in  the  other  case,  by 
dividing  the  product  of  the  means  by  the  given 
extreme. 

All  this  should  be  fully  and  clearly  demon- 
strated by  the  teacher  on  the  blackboard.  The 
members  of  the  class  should  be  continually 
questioned,  both  to  direct  their  attention  and 
to  assure  the  teacher,  that  they  comprehend  his 
explanations.  The  principles  should  then  be 
summed  up  succinctly: 

Ratio  is  the  relation  with  respect  to  value 
that  one  of  two  similar  numbers  bears  to  the 
other. 

Proportion  is  an  equality  of  ratios. 

The    members    of   a    proportion    are   called 

17  N 


Ip4  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

couplets  ;  both  terms  of  the  couplet  must  be  of 
the  same  denomination. 

The  relation  between  the  first  and  second 
terms  of  a  proportion  must  be  the  same  as  the 
relation  between  the  third  and  fourth  terms. 

The  product  of  the  means  is  equal  to  the  pro- 
duct of  the  extremes. 

A  missing  extreme  may  be  found  by  dividing 
the  product  of  the  means  by  the  given  extreme. 

A  mean  may  be  found  by  dividing  the  pro- 
duct of  the  extreme  by  the  given  mean. 

With  these  principles  fully  comprehended,  the 
class  is  prepared  to  advance  to  the  considera- 
tion of  problems  involving  proportions.  Take 
an  example:  If  12  eggs  cost  '^^6  cents,  what 
will  9  eggs  cost?  This,  or  a  similar  problem, 
the  teacher  may  announce  to  his  class  and  pro- 
ceed to  construct  from  it  a  propordon.  It  is 
not  at  all  necessary  to  consider  the  required 
term  as  the  fourth  term  of  the  proportion, 
though  for  uniformity  in  practice,  this  established 
custom  may  be  adopted.  In  the  problem  here 
given  the  number  to  be  found  is  the  price  of  9 
eggs ;  this  will  be  expressed  in  cents.  It  is, 
therefore,  evident  that  the  fourth  term  will  be 
in  the  denomination  of  cents ;  the  third  term 
must  be  of  the  same  denomination,  according 
to  the  principles  already  demonstrated.  The 
only  number  in  the  problem  of  this  denomina- 


>^->^ 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 95 

tion  is  36,  the  price  of  12  eggs;  36  must, 
therefore,  be  written  as  the  third  term  of  the 
proportion.  The  fourth  term,  when  found,  will 
be  the  price  of  9  eggs ;  the  third  term  is  the 
price  of  1 2  eggs,  and  is,  therefore,  larger  than 
the  fourth  will  be ;  when  the  second  couplet  is 
complete,  therefore,  the  antecedent  will  be  larger 
than  the  consequent.  The  principles  of  a  pro- 
portion require,  that  the  ratio  in  the  first  couplet 
shall  be  the  same  as  that  in  the  second ;  there- 
fore in  the  first,  the  antecedent  must  be  larger 
than  the  consequent.  Of  the  two  remaining 
terms,  1 2  eggs  and  9  eggs,  1 2  is  the  larger,  and 
must  be  written  as  the  antecedent,  and  9  as  the 
consequent,  of  the  first  couplet ;  the  proportion 
stands  thus,  1 2  :  9  : :  36 :  — .  Here  is  a  proportion 
incomplete  by  the  absence  of  one  extreme.  By 
the  principles  already  enunciated,  this  is  found 
by  multiplying  the  means  and  dividing  their  pro- 
duct by  the  given  extreme,  36x9-1-12  =  27, 
and  the  complete  proportion  is,  12  :  9  : :  36  :  27. 
This  whole  subject  may  be  clearly  presented 
to  a  class  at  one  recitation  of  twenty  minutes' 
duration.  Teachers  should  immediately  give 
other  examples,  or  direct  the  pupils  to  open 
their  books  to  the  first  examples  given  under 
the  rule,  and  proceed  to  construct  proportions 
by  the  application  of  these  principles.  The 
pupils  should  be  required  to-  run   through  the 


ig6  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

process  of  reasoning,  rapidly,  stating  how  the 
proportion  in  a  given  problem  shall  be  con- 
structed and  how  it  shall  be  solved ;  in  most 
cases  the  result  may  be  announced  without  the 
necessity  of  transferring  the  numbers  to  a  slate 
or  blackboard.  This  introduces  a  proper  ap- 
plication of  mental  arithmetic. 

This  method  of  presenting  and  explaining 
the  subject  of  proportion  is  infinitely  prefer- 
able, and  is  much  more  salutary  in  its  effects 
upon  the  minds  of  the  pupils,  than  the  old  prac- 
tice of  memorizing  the  definitions  and  rules, 
which  are  afterward  to  be  applied,  without  any 
very  definite  idea  of  their  meaning. 

A  Lesson  in  Proportion. — Let  it  be  supposed 
that  a  class  in  arithmetic  is  engaged  in  the  solu- 
tion of  problems  involving  the  principles  of 
proportion,  that  yesterday,  ten  problems  were 
solved  and  demonstrated  upon  the  blackboard 
by  the  class,  and  that  to-day,  an  equal  number 
of  problems  is  to  be  recited.  The  proper 
mode  of  conducting  this  recitation  is  as  follows  : 
The  most  difficult  problems  in  the  lesson  are 
assigned  to  pupils,  one  to  each,  who  are  re- 
quired to  proceed  to  the  blackboard  and  to 
write  out  the  solutions  complete ;  whilst  this  is 
being  done,  the  remaining  members  of  the 
class  are  directed  to  open  their  books  at  the 
lesson  of  yesterday ;  the  teacher  designates  some 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 97 

member  of  the  class,  who  is  required  to  proceed 
to  solve,  mentally,  the  first  problem  in  yester- 
day's lesson — that  is,  to  relate,  without  the  use 
of  visible  signs,  the  processes  involved  In  the 
solution.  Another  member  of  the  class  solves 
the  second  problem  in  a  similar  manner,  and 
thus  the  lesson  of  yesterday  Is  reviewed  through 
the  operation  of  mental  solutions,  performed  by 
those  members  of  the  class,  who  are  not  required 
to  solve  problems  on  the  blackboard.  Those 
problems  In  to-day's  lesson,  which  are  deemed 
not  sufficiently  intricate  to  require  solutions 
upon  the  blackboard,  may  also  be  solved  men- 
tally by  members  of  the  class.  As  soon  as  any 
one  of  the  pupils  at  the  blackboard  shall  signify 
that  the  problem  assigned  has  been  solved,  the 
progress  of  the  mental  solutions  in  the  class  Is 
suspended,  while  the  pupil,  with  a  suitable 
pointer  in  his  hand,  proceeds  to  explain  to 
teacher  and  class  the  processes  of  the  solution 
on  the  board.  In  this  manner  the  whole  class 
is  actively  employed  during  the  whole  time  of 
the  recitation ;  there  is  an  exercise  in  written 
arithmetic  and  an  exercise  in  mental  arithmetic 
every  day.  The  difficult  problems  are  solved 
and  demonstrated  by  members  of  the  class, 
who  thus  exercise  their  faculties  In  performing 
mathematical  operations,  and  in  explaining  to 

others,  in  what  manner  these  operations  are  car- 

17 « 


198  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

ried  on  and  the  final  result  obtained.  This  is 
an  exhibition  of  knowledge  possessed,  and  an 
exercise  in  the  art  of  explaining  to  others 
what  they  should  know.  The  solution  of  all 
problems  in  arithmetic  mentally — by  which  is 
meant  carrying  on  the  processes  in  the  mind 
without  giving  written  expression — trains  the 
mind  in  habits  of  definite  and  rapid  thought,  and 
accustoms  the  pupil  to  the  use  of  language 
called  up  instantly  to  give  expression  to  the 
thoughts  evolved  by  mental  operations.  This 
is  the  best  preparation  for  the  scenes  and  duties 
of  active  life.  It  converts  written  exercises  into 
mental  exercises ;  it  employs  all  the  time  ac- 
tively, so  that  every  moment  is  converted  to 
good  purposes  and  makes  "  mental  arithmetic," 
as  a  distinct  study,  altogether  unnecessary. 

Sufficient  has  now  been  said  on  the  subject 
of  teaching  arithmetic  to  establish  the  general 
principles  involved  in  the  method  here  set  forth. 
The  teacher  should  in  every  case  lead  his  class, 
demonstrate  principles  and  deduce  rules,  so  that 
pupils  will  be  able  to  see  how,  from  the  combi- 
nations of  principles,  rules  and  processes  are 
evolved ;  they  will  follow  the  teacher  through 
every  demonstration,  and  In  many  cases  men- 
tally reach  the  result  before  the  teacher  has 
evolved  It  on  the  blackboard,  or  has  announced 
it  to  his  class.     The  immediate  application  of 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  1 99 

the  rules  thus  deduced  is  easy  and  agreeable, 
and  if,  throughout  the  study  of  arithmetic,  the 
practice  in  mental  solutions  in  review  lessons 
is  made  a  daily  exercise,  the  principles  will  be 
so  fully  impressed  upon  the  minds  that  pupils 
will  not  be  required  to  drag  this  study  along 
through  the  whole  period  of  school-life.  When 
a  class  has  thus  gone  through  arithmetic,  all  the 
members  of  it  will  have  a  clear  comprehension 
of  the  subject,  and  will  have  experienced  the 
lively  satisfaction,  that  always  results  from  a 
consciousness  of  knowledge  possessed.  They 
will,  at  the  end  of  the  term,  lay  aside  the  class- 
book  with  the  agreeable  confidence  that  they 
have  thoroughly  mastered  all  that  is  in  it.  Such 
a  class  may  advance  to  the  study  of  natural 
philosophy,  physiology,  botany  or  other  sciences 
wherein  the  fundamental  principles  of  arithme- 
tic will  be  applied,  and  thus  frequently  passed 
under  review.  The  process  of  mental  discipline 
will  be  carried  on  so  much  more  vigorously, 
through  labors  in  these  new  fields  of  research, 
that  it  is  an  indignity  to  an  active  intelligence 
to  force,  on  the  plea  of  discipline,  a  retracing  of 
studies  in  arithmetic.  To  exercise,  for  years, 
pupils  thus  thoroughly  drilled  in  the  ground- 
work, in  die  application  of  simple  rules  in  intri- 
cate processes,  under  the  mistaken  notion  that 
only  thus,  in  public  schools,  can  needful  mental 


200  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

culture  be  obtained,  would  be  a  misfortune,  a 
blunder,  if  not  a  crime. 

The  study  of  arithmetic  in  mixed  schools 
should  not  be  extended  beyond  the  study  of 
Fractions,  Proportion,  and  Percentage,  including 
Interest  and  Discount,  illustrations  of  business 
forms  used  in  the  making  up  and  adjusting  of 
accounts,  and  superficial  measurements  as  em- 
ployed for  ordinary  business  uses.  This  con- 
templates and  embraces  a  course  in  Bookkeep- 
ing, in  which  the  essential  principles,  and  the 
practical  system  of  entries  and  transfers,  used 
in  the  actual  operations  of  the  counting-house, 
will  be  taught.  What  is  beyond  this  is  techni- 
cal, and  belongs  to  special  branches  of  learning 
to  be  pursued  by  those,  who  wish  to  qualify 
themselves  for  special  vocations,  but  is  not  at  all 
of  concern  to  the  great  masses,  who  are  educated 
for  the  common  affairs  of  life  in  public  schools. 
Mathematical  intricacies  are  superseded  for  pur- 
poses of  discipline,  and  are  therefore  altogether 
ruled  out  of  the  public-school  curriculum  as  use- 
less. 


L"    ■ '    ■  ■    ■  ■    "    ^  I   11    1 1  _1»  _  "_JJ__LL_LV=?C 


1^ 


f^       11         ■■        ■»         11        II         ■!        ii         il        i*        i»        ■■        It       11        li 


CHAPTER  IX. 

METHODS    OF  INSTRUCTION.— Continued. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

HE  method  of  teaching  Geography 
which  is  here  commended,  pre'supposes 
that  the  teacher  will  not  merely  assign 
lessons,  ask  questions  and  hear  an 
swers,  but  that  he  will  feack  Geography  to  the 
class. 

Geography,  as'  applied  to  the  study  in  public 
schools,  is  a  description  of  the  earth's  surface, 
the  surrounding  atmosphere,  the  people  and 
other  living  creatures  that  inhabit  the  earth,  its 
soil  and  productions,  together  with  such  modifi- 
cations as  have  been  effected  by  man,  including 
political  divisions,  political  institutions,  public 
improvements,  etc.  A  mass  of  facts  is  to  be 
presented  in  some  methodical  order  to  young 
pupils.  The  method  usually  adopted  in  most 
schools  is,  to  place  the  Geography  and  atlas  of 

201 


202  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

some  author  in  the  hands  of  pupils,  assign  a 
lesson,  require  them  to  study  it  and  appoint  a 
time  for  recitation.  The  recitation  is  conducted 
by  the  teacher,  who  takes  up  the  book  and  asks 
the  questions  printed  in  small  type,  and  requires 
the  pupils  to  repeat  the  answer  as  printed  in 
large  type.  In  this  manner  the  preliminary 
definitions,  the  astronomical  part,  the  political 
divisions,  the  races  of  men  and  a  scrap  of  phys- 
ical Geography  are  disposed  of.  The  study  of 
the  grand  divisions,  of  political  divisions,  includ- 
ing public  improvements,  products,  governments 
and  religions,  are  treated  in  the  same  superficial 
manner.  This  pernicious  system  was  built  up 
and  is  now  fostered  by  the  authors  of  Geogra- 
phies, most  of  whom  are  disposed  to  follow  a 
stereotyped  form  of  compilation.  Thus,  one 
common-school  Geography  differs  from  another 
chiefly  in  the  phraseology  of  questions  and  an- 
swers, illustrations  and  maps. 

The  natural  method  of  presenting  Geography 
to  a  class  of  beginners  is  found  in  the  nature  of 
the  subject  to  be  studied.  First,  knowledge  of 
the  general  appearance  of  the  earth's  surface  is 
to  be  acquired ;  secondly,  the  operations  of  na- 
ture proceeding  on  a  large  scale  upon  the  earth's 
surface,  such  as  the  changes  of  seasons,  currents 
of  air  and  water,  and  the  distribution  of  people 
and  other  living  creatures ;  thirdly,  the  changes 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  203 

produced  by  man  upon  the  earth's  surface,  such 
as  the  building-  of  cities  and  towns,  construction 
of  highways,  as  canals,  railroads  and  turnpikes, 
the  founding  of  empires,  of  governments,  com- 
merce, and  the  like.  Each  of  these  general 
divisions  comprises  several  subdivisions ;  these 
will  be  indicated  in  the  discussion  of  the  general 
divisions. 

The  Earth's  Surface. — The  first  lessons  In  Ge- 
ography should  be  confined  to  descriptions  of 
the  earth's  surface.  The  proper  place  to  begin 
is  at  the  door  of  the  schoolhouse.  In  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  every  school,  there  may  be  found 
some  feature  that  may  be  taken  as  the  begin- 
ning for  a  lesson.  There  may  be  a  stream  of 
water,  a  creek  or  river,  th9.t  passes  through  a 
valley  or  between  mountains.  Here  there  are 
characteristics  to  be  described.  Tracing  the 
course  of  the  stream  toward  its  source,  the 
teacher  may  describe  the  general  appearance 
of  the  country  on  both  sides  of  it,  stating  how 
far  the  source  is  from  the  point  of  observation 
and  what  streams  are  combined  to  produce  that 
which  flow^s  by  the  schoolhouse.  He  may  pur- 
sue the  course  of  the  stream  downward  and  de- 
scribe the  scenery  on  both  of  its  banks,  state 
what  other  rivers  or  streams  flow  Into  It,  and 
where  it  empties  its  ever-flowing  current  into 
some  other  stream,  into  some  lake,  sea,  bay, 


204  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

gulf  or  ocean.  Possibly  a  spring,  bubbling  up 
from  th^  earth  near  the  schoolhouse,  may  be  a 
most  convenient  starting-point  for  a  lesson. 
Whence  comes  this  water  that  issues  from  the 
earth  and  flows  down  upon  the  slopes  on  its 
surface?  Here  the  rising  of  vapors,  the  form- 
ing of  clouds,  the  falling  of  rain,  may  be  de- 
scribed, as  the  processes  by  which  water  is  taken 
up  from  and  returned  to  the  earth.  Then  the 
course  of  the  rivulet  flowing  from  the  spring 
may  be  followed  until  it  joins  itself  to  some 
other  stream.  The  stream  of  the  combined  riv- 
ulets may  be  traced  until  it  unites  with  some 
river,  and  thence  finds  its  way  to  the  ocean. 

The  schoolhouse  may  be  among  mountains 
or  it  may  be  on  a  plain ;  it  may  be  in  country 
or  it  may  be  in  city;  but  wherever  it  is,  let  the 
description  of  the  earth's  surface  begin  there, 
and  spread  out  in  all  directions,  and  combine  all 
features,  until  the  idea  of  the  pupil  embraces  the 
surface  of  the  whole  earth.  These  descriptions, 
it  is  true,  will  not  be  exhaustive.  They  will  not 
be  technical.  In  a  scientific  sense  they  may  not 
be  complete,  but  for  the  purpose  of  teaching 
Geography  to  a  class  of  beginners,  they  may  be 
complete. 

This  will  be  accomplished  solely  by  oral  in- 
struction. No  books  are  used;  none  are  re- 
quired.    The  idea  of  a  valley,  of  a  mountain,  of 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  205 

a  plain,  of  a  dver,  of  a  lake,  of  a  sea  and  ocean, 
the  idea  of  great  water-currents  and  gy-eat  air- 
currents,  of  clouds,  of  rain,  of  canals,  of  railroads, 
of  turnpikes,  of  villages,  of  cities,  counties,  town- 
ships, school  districts,  will  be  grasped  more  rea- 
dily by  this  method  than  by  efforts  to  communi- 
cate them  through  formal  lessons  framed  by 
bookmakers. 

If  the  class  is  one  of  small  children,  the  teacher 
may  use  the  blackboard  in  describing  water- 
courses, mountains  and  plains,  in  noting  sites 
of  cities,  in  representing  canals,  railroads  and 
turnpikes,  so  that  pupils  will  become  accustomed 
to  associate  the  sketches  on  the  board  with  the 
features  or  objects  they  are  designed  to  repre- 
sent, and  they  will  thus  be  better  prepared  to 
enter  upon  the  study  of  Geography  by  the  use 
of  books  and  maps.  The  average  capacity  of 
the  class  and  the  ferdlity  of  the  region  of  coun- 
try in  distinguishing  features  of  surface,  will 
enable  the  teacher  to  determine  the  extent  to 
which  these  oral  exercises  shall  be  carried. 
That  teacher,  who  will  put  forth  efforts  to  frame 
such  lessons  for  his  classes  during  the  first  week, 
or  even  two  weeks,  of  their  study  of  Geography, 
will  find  his  labors  abundandy  repaid  in  the  inter- 
est the  classes  will  take  when  they  come  to  the 
use  of  books  and  the  recitation  of  lessons  there- 
from.    It  will  be  easy  to  carry  the  young  mind 

18 


206  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

from  the  object  lessons,  thus  supplied,  to  the 
contemplation  of  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth. 
Imagination  will  readily  frame  pictures  of  far- 
distant  regions,  guided  by  observations,  induced 
by  these  preliminary  instructions. 

DAY   AND    NIGHT. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  lessons  that  the 
teacher  can  bring  before  his  class  in  this  oral 
method,  before  books  are  used,  is  the  explana- 
tion of  the  phenomena  of  day  and  night.  The 
observation  of  the  youngest  child  has  prompted 
the  question,  What  makes  day,  and  what  makes 
night?  The  teacher  may  introduce  this  subject 
so  pleasantly  and  simply  that  all  will  be  inter- 
ested in  it,  and  all  may  comprehend  the  princi- 
ples that  govern  the  phenomena.  Though  no 
schoolhouse  should  be  without  charts  or  globes, 
it  is  assumed  for  the  purpose  of  elementary  in- 
struction that,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  the 
teacher  is  without  any  apparatus,  except  only 
such  as  he  can  construct  from  materials  at  hand. 
He  states  to  his  class  that  the  earth  has  two 
motions ;  one  is  a  motion  on  its  axis,  and  the 
other  is  a  motion  through  space  around  the  sun. 
Let  him  take  a  spheroid-shaped  object,  as  an 
apple,  or  turnip,  or  potato,  or  an  onion,  or  a  ball 
such  as  the  boys  use  to  play  with,  and  attach  it  to 
a  string  two  or  three  feet  in  length.     By  holding 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION,  20/ 

the  end  of  the  string  in  such  a  position  that  the 
ball  will  be  suspended  and  easily  seen  by  all  the 
members  of  the  class,  he  may  twist  the  string  in 
his  fingers  and  thus  produce  a  revolution  of  the 
spheroid  on  its  axis.  This  illustrates  the  mean- 
ing of  the  first  definition.  If  he  will  move  his 
hand  so  as  to  describe  circles,  he  will  cause  the 
spheroid  to  move  in  the  same  way,  and  if,  at  the 
same  time,  he  will  twist  the  string,  two  motions 
will  be  produced ;  one  is  the  revolution  on  the 
axis,  and  the  other  is  the  motion  through  space. 
Of  course  the  teacher  will  think  of  explaining 
to  the  children,  that  the  earth  is  not  thus  sus- 
pended by  a  string,  but  that  it  moves  in  space 
and  is  held  in  place  by  invisible  forces. 

The  class  is  told  that  the  revolution  of  the 
earth  on  its  axis  produces  day  and  night.  This 
may  be  illustrated  as  follows :  Let  the  teacher 
provide  himself  with  some  large  spheroid.  If 
he  is  in  a  city  or  manufacturing  town,  he  can 
procure  at  a  turner's  shop,  for  a  few  cents,  a 
piece  of  wood  turned  in  the  required  form ;  if 
he  is  in  the  country,  he  can  obtain  a  large  turnip 
or  a  pumpkin ;  or  if  unprovided  with  either  of 
these,  a  ball,  or  a  hat  with  a  round  crown,  will 
answer  the  purpose.  He  explains  to  his  class 
that  east  and  west,  north  and  south,  points  of 
the  compass,  are  relative  terms  applying  to  the 
earth  and  its  sphere.     Place  upon  the  middle  of 


208  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

the  Spheroid,  between  the  poles,  the  letter  E, 
and  call  that  point  east ;  directly  opposite  to  this 
attach  the  letter  W,  and  call  that  point  west ; 
midway  between  the  E  and  W  attach  some  ob- 
ject, as  a  strip  of  paper,  to  represent  a  place 
inhabited  by  an  observer.  Let  one  of  the  boys 
in  the  class  be  stationed  on  the  platform ;  hold- 
ing the  spheroid  in  such  position  that  the  letter 
E  will  be  next  to  the  boy,  say  to  the  class.  Sup- 
pose that  boy  represents  the  sun;  now,  if  men 
are  residing  here  where  this  mark  Is — pointing 
to  the  object  between  the  E  and  W — which  way 
would  they  look  to  see  the  sun  ?  The  answer 
will  be.  Toward  the  east ;  and  the  question, 
What  time  of  day  Is  it  when  you  look  toward 
the  east  and  see  the  sun  ?  would  bring  out  the 
answer,  Morning.  Now  turn  the  spTieroId  so 
that  the  object  representing  the  place  of  the 
observer  is  directly  opposite  the  boy  ;  the  pupils 
will  see  that  the  observer  then  looks  straight 
away  from  the  earth,  and  will  understand  that 
it  is  noon  to  him ;  continue  to  turn  the  sphe- 
roid until  the  letter  W  is  seen  by  the  boy  who 
represents  the  sun,  and  the  pupils  will  perceive 
that  the  observer  looks  westward  to  see  the 
sun,  and  will  understand  that  it  is  then  evening 
at  that  point.  When  the  spheroid  is  turned 
so  far  that  the  observer  Is  on  the  opposite  side 
from  the  boy  on  the  platform,  it  is  impossible 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  209 

for  him  (the  observer)  to  see  the  sun,  and  there- 
fore the  pupils  will  understand  that  it  is  night. 
As  the  spheroid  is  turned  still  farther,  the  ob- 
server will  again  be  able  to  see  the  boy  on  the 
platform  by  looking  eastward,  and  it  is  then 
morning. 

By  some  such  simple  method  every  teacher 
may  make  plain  to  young  children,  what  is  very 
often  not  clearly  understood  by  full-grown  per- 
sons. If  a  teacher  is  provided  with  globes  and 
orreries,  maps  and  charts,  and  has  skill  to  use 
them,  such  simple  devices  will  be  unnecessary. 

THE    SEASONS. 

Another  interesting  lesson  may  be  given  on 
the  seasons.  By  the  use  of  the  same  spheroid 
provided  for  the  previous  demonstration,  a 
teacher  may  give  to  his  class  a  correct  idea  of 
how  the  seasons  are  produced  by  the  revolution 
of  the  earth  about  the  sun.  Let  him  draw  upon 
the  surface  of  the  spheroid  lines,  representing 
the  equator  and  the  lesser  circles  on  the  globe, 
explaining  that  the  position  of  the  earth  is  al- 
ways such,  that  the  axis  inclines  toward  a  fixed 
point  in  the  heavens.  Some  object  may  be 
placed  upon  the  teacher's  desk  to  represent  the 
sun,  or  a  boy  may  stand  upon  the  platform  for 
this  purpose ;  the  teacher  will  explain  that,  when 
the  rays  of  the  sun  strike  the  earth  perpendicu- 

18*  0 


210  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

larly,  they  produce  a  greater  heat,  than  when 
they  strike  it  obliquely,  just  as  a  rod  projected 
against  a  board  perpendicularly  strikes  with 
greater  force,  than  if  it  is  projected  obliquely. 
By  holding  the  spheroid  in  such  position  that 
the  axis  will  always  incline  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, and  moving  it  about  the  object  used  to  re- 
present the  sun,  the  teacher  will  illustrate  how 
the  rays  of  the  sun  in  different  parts  of  the 
earth's  course,  sometimes  strike  equatorial  re- 
gions perpendicularly,  and  at  other  times  por- 
tions north  or  south  of  the  equator  perpendicu- 
larly ;  that  when  the  perpendicular  rays  are 
upon  that  portion  of  the  earth  south  of  the 
equator,  and  the  oblique  rays  upon  that  portion 
of  the  earth  north  of  the  equator,  the  greatest 
heat  is  south  and  the  greatest  cold  is  north ; 
that  it  is  then  summer  south  of  the  equator  and 
winter  north  of  the  equator ;  that  as  the  earth 
continues  in  its  course  and  presents  to  the  per- 
pendicular rays  more  northernly  portions  of  its 
surface  spring  approaches,  and  as  the  most 
northern  latitudes  pass  under  the  perpendicular 
rays  midsummer  is  reached,  and  then  the  earth, 
still  passing  on  its  course,  presents  more  south- 
ernly  portions  of  its  surface  to  the  perpendicu- 
lar rays,  and  thus  autumn  and  winter  come 
upon  northern  latitudes.  This  can  be  clearly 
illustrated    by   simple    contrivances  within    the 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  211 

reach  of  every  school-teacher.  They  will  add 
great  interest  to  the  study,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, the  uniqueness  of  the  apparatus  will  do 
much  to  stamp  durably  upon  the  mind  the 
truths  illustrated  thereby. 

RACES   OF    MEN. 

The  ramifications  of  commerce  into  all  parts 
of  the  globe  and  the  construction  of  railroads  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  have  induced  such  an  in- 
termingling of  the  races,  that  almost  every  school- 
district  will  furnish  in  its  population  two  or  more 
characteristic  types  of  the  human  race.  A  set 
of  photographs,  lithographs  or  engravings  rep- 
resenting the  distinguishing  features  of  races, 
maybe  purchased  at  small  cost,  and  can  be  used 
as  the  subject  for  a  very  interesting  lesson.  The 
teacher,  of  course,  should  not  attempt  to  discuss 
the  finely-marked  and  questionable  distinctions, 
but  only  those  well-defined  outlines  in  feature 
and  character  that  can  be  comprehended  by  the 
class  before  him. 

MAPS   AND   BOOKS.     . 

After  such  a  course  of  preliminary  training, 
the  class  in  Geography  is  prepared  to  take  up 
the  study  formally  from  maps  and  books.  The 
subjects  treated  of  in  the  oral  lessons  may  be 
rapidly  reviewed  from  the  text.     The  method 


212  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

of  conducting  recitations  by  questions  and  an- 
swers is  the  very  worst  that  can  be  advised  for 
teaching-  Geography  to  pupils  of  all  grades,  and 
should  be  abandoned.  It  is  much  better  to  re- 
quire one  pupil  to  describe  the  distribution  of 
water  on  the  earth's  surface ;  another,  the  divis- 
ions of  land ;  another,  public  improvements ; 
another,  the  appliances  of  commerce.  This 
brings  the  whole  subject  unitedly  before  the 
whole  class,  which  is  much  better  than  to  serve 
it  up  as  hash.  In  what  manner  the  study  of 
any  political  or  general  or  grand  division  of  the 
earth's  surface  should  be  presented  to  a  class  has 
been  fully  described  in  another  part  of  this  work. 
Geography  presents  many  suggestive  lessons, 
and  a  teacher  should  constantly  be  on  the  alert 
to  take  advantage  of  these  suggestions  and  en- 
large upon  the  lesson  in  the  text.  History  con- 
tributes many  interesting  incidents  to  Geogra- 
phy. Geology  and  Astronomy  likewise  bring 
rich  treasures  to  this  department  of  learning. 
It  is,  therefore,  especially  one  of  those  branches 
of  common-school  studies  in  which  teachers  pre- 
eminently are  required  to  teach,  and  not  merely 
to  exercise  classes  in  questions  and  answers. 

MAP-DRAWING. 

In  the  study  of  political  divisions,  where  bound- 
aries are  to  be  defined,  as  also  in  the  study  of 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION,  21$ 

the  grand  divisions,  where  general  features  are 
to  be  impressed  upon  the  mind,  where  cities  are 
to  be  located  and  points  made  interesting  by- 
historic  events  are  to  be  indicated,  exercises  in 
map-drawing  afford  the  best  discipline,  and  tend 
to  fix  definitely  and  durably  in  the  mind  those 
outlines  and  features  in  Geography  which  it  is 
desirable  to  remember,  and  at  the  same  time  it 
excludes  masses  of,  insignificant  trash  which  not 
unfrequently  comprise  the  bulk  of  the  text-books 
on  Geography.  Both  positively  and  negatively, 
therefore,  map-drawing  is  a  valuable  and  de- 
sirable exercise.  It  may,  moreover,  be  intro- 
duced to  pupils  who  are  at  that  age,  when  ina- 
bility to  grapple  with  the  more  intricate  branches 
of  common-school  learning  gives  time  for  map- 
drawing,  which  is  then  made  to  serve  as  well 
for  recreation  as  for  instruction.  What  is  usu- 
ally termed  Physical  Geography  will  be  consid- 
ered in  the  chapter  on  Geology  and  other  sci- 
ences. 


CHAPTER  X. 
METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.— Continued. 

BOTANY. 

|HE  elementary  facts  of  the  science  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom  are  every- 
where visible.  No  study  presented  to 
pupils  of  the  medium  public-school  age 
is  more  interesting  or  attractive  than  that  which 
describes  these  facts,  classifies  and  combines 
them  in  a  science.  How  to  observe  intelligently 
the  growth  and  decay  of  vegetation,  how  to  dis- 
tinguish one  class  of  plants  from  another,  the 
ability  to  name  herbs,  shrubs  and  trees  at  sight, 
can  be  acquired  at  a  very  early  age,  and  will  be 
among  the  most  useful  and  agreeable  knowledge 
that  is  gathered  in  the  whole  course  of  com- 
mon-school study. 

Two  methods  of  studying  botany  are  pre- 
sented : 

1st.  That  which  begins  with  the  seedling 
rising  from  the  ground  and  observes  its  devel- 
opment into  a  full-grown  plant. 

214 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  21$ 

2d.  To  begin  with  full-grown  plants  and 
study  their  differences  and  similarities  so  as  to 
classify  them  in  accordance  with  well-marked 
characteristics  into  classes,  orders,  tribes,  gen- 
era and  species.  A  strict  adherence  to  the 
natural  order  in  scientific  investigation  would  re- 
quire the  pupil  to  pursue  the  first  method — that 
is,  to  begin  with  the  seedling  just  rising  from  the 
ground,. and  to  trace  the  changes  produced  until 
the  ripened  seed,  similar  to  that  which  was  de- 
posited in  the  ground,  is  reached.  But  for  the 
purpose  of  common-school  learning,  and  to 
bring  the  subject  fully  within  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  pupils,  the  second  method  should  be 
adopted — that  is,  children  who  have  observed 
the  differences  in  vegetation,  and  are  familiar 
with  the  outward  form  of  many  plants,  should 
be  instructed  to  systematize  their  observations, 
to  inspect  closely  objects  presented,  with  the 
view  of  ascertaining  which  are  like  and  which 
are  unlike,  and  in  what  respect  they  are  like 
and  unlike. 

The  study  of  botany  is  clearly  divisible  into 
two  periods — the  period  of  observation  and  the 
period  of  classification.  In  the  first  period  pupils 
should  collect  facts,  and  in  the  second  period 
they  should  classify  the  facts  in  accordance  with 
similarities  of  form  and  structure.  The  facts  of 
botany  are  plants  and  their  parts.     The  classir 


2l6  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

ficatlon  of  botany  is  in   series,  class,  order  or 
family,  tribe,  genus,  species,  variety. 

This  division  of  the  subject  gives  rise  to  two 
series  of  lessons — one  series  in  which  pupils 
may  learn  to  distinguish  the  forms  and  parts  of 
plants  ;  another  series  in  which  pupils  may  learn 
to  compare  plants  and  to  classify  them,  begin- 
ning with  the  largest  division  and  proceeding 
downward  through  the  smaller  divisions. 

FIRST   SERIES   OF   LESSONS. 

The  study  of  botany  should  begin  in  the 
spring  or  summer,  when  vegetation  is  abundant. 
The  first  lesson  should  be  on  some  familiar 
plant,  as  a  violet  or  a  buttercup,  found  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States.  Suppose,  then,  the 
teacher  has  provided  for  the  lesson  a  few  speci- 
mens of  the  buttercup,  full  plants,  with  all  the 
parts  well  developed.  Hold  the  plant  in  the 
left  hand,  so  that  all  the  members  of  the  class 
can  see  it,  and  with  the  right  hand  point  to  the 
parts.  To  begin  with,  here  is  a  root ;  note  its 
shape;  it  is  slender,  branching,  or  it  is  bulbous ; 
the  class  should  be  questioned  as  to  what  other 
plants  have  roots  similar  in  form,  and  the 
teacher  may  name  a  few  most  familiar.  Proceed 
next  to  examine  the  stem :  it  is  single  or  it  is 
branching;  the  branches  grow  out  from  the 
main  stem  opposite  to  each  other,  alternately, 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION,  21/ 

or  in  whorls;  the  stem  is  soft,  fleshy,  succulent, 
or  it  is  hard  and  woody ;  it  is  hairy  or  smooth ; 
it  is  solid  or  it  is  hollow.  All  these  particulars 
must  be  determined.  Here  are  leaves ;  what  is 
their  general  outline  ?  Have  any  other  plants 
leaves  like  these  in  shape?  The  leaves,  like 
stems,  grow  out  opposite  to  each  other,  alter- 
nately, or  in  whorls ;  the  edges  of  the  leaves 
are  regular  or  irregular ;  hold  a  leaf  up  to  the 
window  and  see  if  veins  or  branches  are  visible  ; 
these  veins  are  parallel  or  netted.  Here  are 
flowers,  also ;  examine  one  of  them  and  dis- 
cover its  structure.  These  glossy  yellow  parts 
are  called  petals — do  not  forget  that  rnxn^, petals ; 
there  are  five  of  them,  and  when  taken  together 
they  form  the  corolla.  But,  see,  here  is  some- 
thing under  the  corolla  that  has  been  over- 
looked; here  are  five  green  leaflets,  or  some- 
thing that  resembles  leaflets;  these  are  sepals; 
the  five  taken  together  form  the  calyx.  The 
calyx  is  a  seat  or  base  for  the  corolla  ;  the  sepals 
are  supports  for  the  petals  ;  the  sepals  are  green, 
like  the  stem  and  leaves,  the  petals  are  richly 
colored,  a  golden  yellow.  The  five  petals  are 
not  arranged  direcdy  over  the  five  sepals,  but 
they  grow  out  alternately  with  them.  On  the 
top  of  the  flower,  filling  the  cup  formed  by  the 
corolla,  are  a  great  number  of  fine,  delicate 
parts  ;  upon  close  examination  it  is  found  that 

19 


2l8  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

these  are  not  all  of  the  same  form ;  there  are 
two  forms  of  vegetable  organs  here,  and  there 
are  a  great  many  of  each  kind  ;  first,  in  the  out- 
side circles  of  this  little  cup  is  one  kind  and  in 
the  centre  is  another  kind  of  organs ;  these  on 
the  outside  are  called  stamens,  those  in  the  cen- 
tre are  called  pistils.  Count  the  stamens  and 
pistils  in  the  specimens. 

The  superficial  examination  of  a  plant  as  here 
indicated  will  suffice  for  one  lesson.  In  another 
lesson  other  specimens  of  the  same  tribe  or 
genus  should  be  examined  and  the  differences 
pointed  out.  Of  the  buttercup  genus,  there  are 
species  with  smooth  stems  and  species  with 
hairy  stems  ;  there  are  bulbous  roots  and.  branch- 
ing roots ;  there  are  also  marked  differences  in 
the  leaf  forms,  stems  and  flowers,  which  will 
afford  materials  for  two  or  three  lessons. 

The  knowledge  acquired  in  the  study  of  the 
structure  of  plants  of  one  family  prepares  pupils 
to  advance  to  the  comparison  of  specimens  from 
two  or  more  distinct  families. 

The  mint  family  is  found  in  nearly  every  part 
of  the  United  States  early  in  summer,  and  is, 
therefore,  a  very  proper  subject  for  a  lesson  of 
comparison.  The  stems  of  mint  are  square,  the 
leaves  are  opposite  and  the  corolla  is  single 
and  lip-shaped.  The  mustard  family  will  supply 
convenient  specimens  to  be  introduced  with  the 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  219 

mint  family.  In  these  the  stems  are  round,  and 
have  a  pungent,  watery  juice ;  the  flowers  have 
four  sepals  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  and 
four  petals  arranged  in  the  same  manner,  and 
the  leaves  are  alternate.  The  differences  be- 
tween the  members  of  these  two  families,  there- 
fore, are  very  marked.  The  plants  of  the  mus- 
tard family  will  also  be  known  by  their  seed-pods, 
such  as  are  found  in  the  cresses,  in  pepper-root, 
in  the  mustards,  in  the  shepherd's  purse,  in  pep- 
per-grass, and,  what  is  still  more  common,  in 
the  radish.  Radishes  and  mint  are  familiar  to 
most  children ;  these  differences  will,  therefore, 
be  studied  with  interest,  and  that  there  is  no 
family  resemblance  or  natural  relation  between 
these  two  orders  of  plants  will  be  fully  compre- 
hended. 

These  lessons  in  the  general  comparison  of 
plants  may  be  extended  so  as  to  include  speci- 
mens of  the  herbs,  shrubs  and  trees  most  nu- 
merous in  the  vicinity  and  most  marked  in  their 
characteristics. 

SECOND    SERIES    OF    LESSONS. 

A  second  series  of  lessons  may  be  so  framed 
as  to  comprise  a  more  close  examination  of  spe- 
cimens of  the  same  order,  tribe  or  genus.  Let 
the  neighborhood  be  thoroughly  scoured  by  the 
pupils,  who  should  be  instructed  to  collect  spe- 


220  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

cimens  of  some  well-marked  family — as,  for  ex- 
ample, the  mint  family — ascertain  how  many 
varieties  can  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
schoolhouse,  examine  these  closely,  in  order  to 
point  out  their  characteristic  differences,  and 
thus  exhibit  the  features  that  determine  the  clas- 
sification. 

In  these  lessons  of  the  second  series,  a  teacher 
may  with  propriety  introduce  technical  names 
of  leaf  forms.  The  veins  of  leaves  may  be  ex- 
amined more  closely  to  discover  differences 
in  arrangement.  The  general  outlines  of  the 
leaves  should  be  distinguished — whether  they  are 
linear,  that  is,  long  and  narrow ;  lanceolate,  that 
is,  lance-shaped ;  whether  they  are  oblong,  that 
is,  two  or  three  times  as  long  as  broad ;  whether 
they  are  elliptical,  or  oval,  or  wedge-shaped,  or 
heart-shaped,  or  kidney-shaped,  or  arrow-shaped, 
or  halberd-shaped,  or  shield-shaped.  By  exam- 
ining a  number  of  leaves  it  will  be  found,  that 
the  points  in  different  leaves  are  unlike  in  form 
of  termination.  Some  are  acute,  ending  in  an 
acute  angle ;  others  are  obtuse,  that  is,  have  a 
blunt  or  rounded  ending ;  others  are  retruse,  or 
have  a  shallow  notch  in  the  end ;  others  are  ob- 
cordiate,  that  is,  are  inversely  heart-shaped; 
others  cuspidate,  round,  but  tipped  with  a  sharp 
point  like  a  tooth.  Leaves  differ  also  in  the 
outline  of  their  edges.     Some  have  smooth  out- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  221 

lines;  others' are  saw- toothed  on  the  margin; 
others  have  deep,  round  dents  or  scallops; 
others  are  jagged  in  the  margin,  having  sharp, 
deep,  irregular  teeth;  some  leaves  are  lobed, 
like  those  of  post  oak ;  others  are  deeply  cleft, 
like  some  varieties  of  the  maple.  All  these  va- 
rieties  are  put  in  one  class,  and  are  called  sim- 
ple leaves.  Others  are  put  in  the  class  of  com- 
pound leaves ;  these  are  such  as  are  composed 
of  a  number  of  parts,  as  the  leaves  of  the  locust 
or  the  pine  family,  and  the  variations  in  such  gen- 
eral characteristics  should  be  pointed  out,  the 
teacher  being  careful  never  to  present  so  much 
in  any  one  lesson  as  to  cause  confusion  or  to 
engender  discouragement.  Technical  names  de- 
scribing forms  of  leaves  will  be  enough  to  begin 
with.  As  classes  advance  and  become  more  apt 
in  marking  distinctions,  names  can  be  given  de- 
noting these  distinctions,  and,  by  frequent  refer- 
ences, the  repetition  of  the  name  and  its  appli- 
cation to  the  feature  indicated  by  it,  will  make 
both  familiar. 

The  lessons  in  the  first  and  second  series 
might  with  profit  be  given  to  an  entire  school, 
and  occasionally  an  afternoon  might  be  spent  in 
examining  the  vegetation  in  some  field  or  grove 
near  the  schoolhouse.  In  such  excursions,  the 
school  may  be  divided  into  classes,  and  a  leader 
appointed  for  each  class,  whose  duty  it  would  be 

19  * 


222  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

to  see  that  none  of  the  children  stray  away  or 
miss  the  instruction  given  in  the  excursion.  The 
older  pupils  should  be  directed  to  assist  their 
younger  companions  in  finding  specimens  of 
plants,  and  to  instruct  them  how  to  distinguish 
the  most  marked  features  in  different  classes. 
In  this  way  the  whole  school  will  be  interested, 
and  numerous  specimens  will  be  collected  which 
can  be  carried  to  the  school-room  for  close 
inspection  and  classification.  By  pursuing  this 
method  all  members  of  the  school  will  soon 
become  familiar  with  the  name  of  every  herb, 
shrub  and  tree  in  the  neighborhood ;  the  pupils 
will,  in  turn,  instruct  their  older  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, and  even  their  parents,  and  thus  a  general 
diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  will  take  place, 
for  which  the  teacher  will  receive  due  praise. 

CLASSIFICATION. 

When  the  facts  of  the  science  of  botany  shall 
have  been  collected  by  a  system  of  observations 
as  above  described,  the  time  and  the  materials 
for  classification  are  at  hand.  The  technical 
names  belonging  to  the  parts  and  features  of 
plants  should  be  learned  in  the  first  and  second 
series  of  lessons.  As  the  facts  are  collected 
they  should  be  named.  This  will  enable  the 
teacher  to  speak  intelligently  of  characteristics 
which  determine  classification.     Moreover,  when 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  22 J 

a  fact  or  a  phenomenon  is  observed,  it  should  be 
named,  so  that  the-  name  and  the  fact  may  be  at 
once  associated,  and  the  one  may  be  used  to 
indicate  the  other.  The  pupils  have  already 
learned  that  plants  reproduce  themselves  by 
seeds;  that  in  most  plants  the  seeds  are  ma- 
tured in  the  flower,  or  in  the  seat  of  the  flower ; 
that  other  plants  do  not  bear  flowers,  but  pro- 
duce, instead  of  seeds,  spores,  which  grow  on  the 
leaves.  Of  these  the  ferns  furnish  a  good  ex- 
ample. The  first  classification  of  plants  is  based 
on  this  feature — plants  that  bear  flowers  and 
plants  that  do  not  bear  flowers.  This  distinc- 
tion divides  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom  into 
two  series,  flowering  plants  and  non-flowering 
plants. 

By  examining  the  structure  of  plants  it  will 
be  found  that  the  fibres  of  the  stem  in  some 
grow  in  circles,  like  the  oak,  chestnut  and  other 
familiar  trees — that  is,  an  additional  circle  of 
woody  fibre  is  added  to  the  stem  of  the  plant 
each  year.  Many  annuals — such  plants  as 
grow  up  in  the  spring  and  decay  in  the  fall 
and  winter — have  the  same  structure,  the 
fibres  are  arranged  in  circles;  in  other  plants 
fibres  are  arranged  in  bundles,  as  is  the  case  in 
the  palm  family  and  in  the  lily  family.  By  cut- 
ting the  stem  of  a  common  lily,  or  of  sorghum 
or  broom-corn,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  fibres  of 


224  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

which  it  is  composed  are  arranged  in  close  bun- 
dles, and  not  in  circles,  as  are  the  fibres  of  the 
buttercup,  the  rose  and  geranium.  Plants  in 
which  the  fibres  of  the  stem  are  arranged  in  cir- 
cles are  called  outward  growers,  because  the 
stem  increases  by  adding  one  layer  of  fibre  to 
another.  Plants  in  which  the  stem-fibres  are 
arranged  in  bundles  are  called  inward  growers, 
because  they  increase  by  putting  up  through  the 
middle  of  the  stem  additional  bundles  of  fibre. 
This  gives  rise  to  another  classification  among 
flowering  plants.  The  first  class  are  the  out- 
ward growers  and  the  second  class  the  inward 
growers.  The  teacher  may  give  the  technical 
names  of  these  classes  as  exogenous  and  endoge- 
nous. In  the  first  class  the  leaves  are  netted- 
veined,  in  the  second  class  the  leaves  are  mostly 
parallel-veined.  This  is  sufficient  for  one  lesson 
in  classification.  Now  let  the  pupils  be  instruct- 
ed to  scour  the  fields  and  woods  to  gather  speci- 
mens of  exogenous  and  endogenous  plants,  bind- 
ing those  belonging  to  each  class  in  bundles. 

The  second  lesson  may  be  given  on  the  di- 
visions of  exogenous  plants.  The  teacher  may 
explain  without  giving  the  technical  distinctions 
that  Class  i  contains  two  sub-classes;  the  second 
of  these  sub-classes  contains  all  plants  with 
the  exception  of  conifera  or  cone- bearing  plants, 
of  which  the  pine  is  an  example.     Sub-class  i 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  22$ 

contains  plants  with  flowers  having  a  calyx  and 
a  corolla,  as  is  seen  in  the  example  of  the  but- 
tercup, with  separate  sepals  and  petals  present. 
It  also  contains  plants  in  which  the  petals  are 
united  into  one,  and  plants  whose  flowers  have 
neither  calyx  nor  corolla,  or  only  a  calyx ;  this 
gives  rise  to  three  Divisions.  Division  i,  in 
which  the  calyx  and  corolla  are  present,  with 
the  parts  distinct  and  separate ;  Division  2,  in 
which  the  calyx  and  corolla  are  present,  but  the 
petals  of  the  corolla  are  united  in  one  piece; 
Division  3,  in  which  the  corolla  is  always,  and 
the  calyx  sometimes,  wanting. 

To  illustrate  this  lesson,  the  teacher  should 
have  present  specimens  of  each  of  these  sub- 
classes and  divisions.  Before  the  class  is  dis- 
missed, the  pupils  should  be  instructed  to  collect 
a  number  of  specimens  representing  each  sub- 
class and  each  division,  binding  them  in  sepa- 
rate bundles. 

A  third  lesson  may  be  based  upon  some  of 
the  orders  or  families  under  the  first  division  of 
exogenous  plants.  Those  flowers  with  numer- 
ous stamens — that  is,  those  in  which  the  num- 
ber of  stamens  is  more  than  twice  the  number 
of  sepals — may  be  taken  up.  Among  these  will 
be  found  some  families  that  are  already  familiar — 
the  rose,  the  buttercup  and  the  portulacca.  The 
members  of  these  families  will  be  distinguished 


226  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

by  the  differences  In  the  arrangement  of  calyx 
and  corolla,  the  number  of  petals,  the  position 
of  the  stamens  and  the  position  and  form  of  the 
leaves. 

The  subject  of  classification  Is  thus  fairly  In- 
troduced; the  process  Is  now  essentially  the 
same  throughout  the  study. 

A  class  thus  instructed  is  prepared  to  take 
up  the  "  Manual  of  Plants"  and  trace  character- 
istic features  through  the  entire  classification,  so 
as  to  acquire  facility  in  observing  and  accuracy 
in  distinguishing,  that  will  enable  them  to  ascer- 
tain the  name  of  any  plant  that  may  be  pre- 
sented for  their  determination.  Throughout  the 
whole  study  the  teacher  must  lead  his  class ; 
whenever  he  discovers  symptoms  of  confusion 
of  ideas,  or  Inability  to  classify  as  far  as  the  in- 
struction has  gone,  he  should  immediately  begin 
a  thorough  review,  should  present  new  Illus- 
trations, and  thus  rediscuss  the  subject  In  such 
a  manner  as  to  clear  away  the  difficulty  and  re- 
new the  zeal  and  confidence  of  his  pupils.  If 
the  teaching  is  thorough,  there  Is  no  danger  of 
teaching  too  much ;  as  long  as  there  is  a  family 
of  plants  undetermined,  as  long  as  there,  are 
herbs,  shrubs  or  trees  in  the  neighborhood  not 
named  by  the  class,  the  search  and  classification 
should  go  forward. 

Though  the  spring  season  is  the  proper  time 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  22/ 

in  which  to  begin  the  study  of  botany,  a  teacher 
taking  charge  of  a  school,  which  opens  in  Sep- 
tember, should  take  advantage  of  the  closing 
weeks  of  the  season  of  vegetation  to  instruct  his 
pupils  in  this  beautiful  and  attractive  branch  of 
natural  history. 

By  giving  directions  for  the  drying  and  press- 
ing of  specimens  of  plants  and  arranging  them 
in  herbariums,  properly  labeled,  with  time  and 
place  of  gathering  the  plants  noted,  he  will  en- 
sure an  ever-increasing  interest  in  this  study  and 
thereby  give  additional  value  to  his  labors,  by 
providing  for  contributions  to  science.  Every 
State  might  thus  obtain,  through  its  department 
of  public  education,  a  complete  collection  of  the 
vegetation  found  upon  its  soil. 

GEOLOCxY. 

According  to  Prof  Hitchcock,  a  division  of 
geology  of  practical  value  is  as  follows:  ist. 
Scenographical  geology,  or  an  account  of  rocks 
as  they  exhibit  themselves  to  the  eyes — in  other 
words,  an  account  of  natural  scenery. 

2d.  Economical  geology,  or  an  account  of 
rocks  with  reference  to  their  value  or  their  ap- 
plication to  the  wants  of  society. 

3d.  Scientific  geology,  or  the  history  of  rocks 
in  their  relations  to  science  or  philosophy. 

In  the  language  of  geology,  the  term  rock  em- 


228  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

braces  all  the  materials,  including  the  solid  com- 
pact forms  of  rocks,  as  well  as  soils,  clays  and 
gravels  that  cover  the  solid  parts.  This  signifi- 
cation should  be  explained  to  the  whole  school 
at  the  very  beginning  of  the  study  of  geology. 
As  a  branch  of  learning  adapted  to  the  scope  of 
public  schools,  the  study  of  geology  must  be 
confined  to  the  first  and  second  divisions  of  the 
subject  as  above  made. 

Natural  scenery  is  produced  chiefly  by  the 
arrangement  of  the  rocks  that  constitute  the 
surface  of  the  earth ;  it  Is  true,  the  surface  is 
usually  covered  with  vegetation,  but  this  as 
often  detracts  from  as  it  adds  to  the  general 
effect.  The  first  lessons  in  geology,  therefore, 
are  lessons  on  scenery — are  lessons  on  the  mate- 
rials composing  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  they 
are  presented  to  the  eye.  In  the  walls  of  the 
schoolhouse,  In  the  road  or  street,  in  the  fields 
adjoining  the  school-lot,  will  be  found  specimens 
of  rocks  differing  widely  in  their  appearance ; 
some  are  white,  some  blue,  some  red,  some 
gray ;  some  are  smooth  and  regular  in  fracture, 
others  are  rough  and  Irregular ;  some  are  soft 
and  some  are  hard.  Here  are  facts  observed ; 
these  should  be  named  and  classified.  If  the 
school  Is  In  the  rural  districts,  children,  in  walk- 
ing half  a  mile  to  and  from  school,  will  observe 
in  the  road-bed,  or  in  the  fields  on  the  side  of 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  229 

the  road,  that  the  ground  in  some  places  is  of  a 
yellowish  color,  in  other  places  of  a  reddish 
color,  in  some  places  stiff  and  clayey,  in  other 
places  loose  and  sandy ;  or  they  may  pass  over 
ledges  of  rock  in  place.  At  one  point  this  rock 
may  be  white,  smooth,  satiny  in  its  fractures ; 
in  another  it  may  be  white,  smooth  and  glassy 
in  its  fractures.  If  pieces  of  rock  from  such 
ledges  be  taken  and  rubbed  together,  it  will  be 
found  that  one  is  scratched  and  cut  on  the  sur- 
face, whilst  the  other  remains  unchanged ;  that 
one  is  calcspar,  which  is  lime,  and  the  other 
quartz,  which  is  flint.  The  neighborhood  may 
be  examined  to  ascertain  at  how  many  points 
limestone  may  be  found  in  place,  and  at  how 
many  points  quartz  may  be  found  in  place.  If 
there  are  mountains  in  the  vicinity,  in  all  proba- 
bility one  side  of  the  mountain  will  show  lime- 
stone and  the  other  side  sandstone  or  granite. 
Ores,  coal,  marble,  felspar,  and  generally  strati- 
fied rock  and  unstratified  rock  may  be  found  in 
close  proximity  in  many  neighborhoods  through- 
out the  country. 

These  are  surface  phenomena  that  are  ob- 
served; they  should  be  studied  and  classified; 
this  will  afford  agreeable,  easy  and  profitable 
work  for  a  school  at  every  session.  If  the 
school  is  in  a  city,  the  specimens  of  building 
stone  that  can  be  found  in  almost  every  school- 


230  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

district  will  afford  illustrations  of  facts  in  geol- 
ogy. The  accessible  suburbs  and  the  great 
parks,  fruitful  in  botanical  and  geological  illus- 
trations, should  be  visited  and  studied  systemati- 
cally and  regularly.  The  banks  of  streams, 
especially  where  they  have  cut  through  hills 
and  mountains,  or  where  they  impinge  against 
hill  and  mountain  slopes,  will  frequently  afford 
views  of  rock  in  place,  so  that  pupils  can  see 
how  one  stratum  is  laid  upon  another  in  the 
structure  of  the  earth.  The  deep  cuts  made  in 
the  construction  of  railroads  lay  bare  many  hid- 
den secrets,  which  pupils  from  schools  in  the 
country  and  in  city  should  be  invited  to  examine 
and  study.  Every  schoolhouse  should  contain 
a  case  of  shelves  and  drawers,  into  which  speci- 
mens of  all  the  rocks,  both  solid  and  disinteg- 
rated, in  the  district,  should  be  arranged,  prop- 
erly labeled  with  the  name  of  the  specimen  and 
place  where  it  was  found.  A  system  of  ex- 
changes may  be  introduced  throughout  the 
county,  so  that  each  schoolhouse  would  soon 
contain  a  complete  cabinet  of  geological  speci- 
mens representing  all  the  formations  in  the 
county ;  these  exchanges  might  be  extended 
through  the  State,  so  that  all  the  formations  in 
the  State  would  be  represented  in  the  cabinet 
of  each  school-district,  and  the  school-depart- 
ment at  the  State  capital,  by  a  requisition  upon 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  23 1 

the  several  districts,  might  procure  for  the  State 
a  complete  geological  and  mineralogical  cabi- 
net, in  which  would  be  represented  the  soils, 
rocks  and  minerals  of  the  State.  Under  such  a 
course  of  instruction  the  pupils  in  every  school- 
district  would  be  made  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  names  of  the  rocks  and  minerals  in  their 
respective  neighborhoods. 

An  examination  of  the  mountains,  hills,  valleys 
or  plains  in  the  vicinity  of  the  schoolhouse  will 
give  profitable  recreation,  and  the  acquaintance 
with  their  geological  structure  that  will  thus  be 
acquired  will  constitute  part  of  the  most  practi- 
cal and  useful  knowledge  that  pupils  will  carry 
from  the  school-room  into  the  active  concerns 
of  life. 

The  whole  subject  of  Scenographical  geology 
may  be  successfully  taught  without  the  use  of 
text-books. 

Economical  geology, — When  the  names  of  the 
rocks  and  their  positions  in  the  surface  forma- 
tions have  become  familiar  to  the  pupils,  a  know- 
ledge of  their  uses  will  be  easily  and  speedily 
acquired. 

In  the  studies  of  the  uses  of  rocks  it  will  be 
convenient  to  divide  them  into  two  classes:  first, 
those  that  are  in  solid  masses,  and,  second,  those 
that  have  become  disintegrated  into  soils,  clays, 
etc.     The  teacher  is  supposed  to   be  familiar 


232  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

with  Scientific  geology,  including  the  chemistry 
of  geology,  for  he  will  have  occasion  to  draw  fre- 
quently upon  his  resources  to  explain  the  rela- 
tive qualities  of  soils  and  their  adaptability^  to 
purposes  of  agriculture,  so  as  to  explain,  gene- 
rally, the  classes  of  vegetation  that  grow  most 
luxuriantly  on  each  variety  of  soil  found  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  also  the  uses  of  clays  and 
sands  in  the  manufacture  of  brick,  earthen  or 
delf  ware  and  glass.  Rocks  in  masses  are  chiefly 
useful  as  building  material,  differing  very  greatly 
in  value  for  such  purposes.  The  rock  in  place 
in  every  neighborhood  may  be  examined  and  its 
relative  value  as  a  building  material  determined 
and  noted  in  the  records  of  the  school-district. 
This  work  may  also  be  accomplished  more  thor- 
oughly for  the  class  without  the  use  of  a  text- 
book than  with  it.  The  effects  of  water,  air,  sun- 
shine and  heat  upon  soils  and  rock,  whether  in 
solid  masses  or  in  disintegrated  forms,  should  be 
explained  by  the  teacher,  and  examples  of  these 
operations  of  the  elements  should  be  pointed 
out  in  the  geological  excursions  made  in  the 
neighborhood. 

Geology,  like  botany,  is  a  study  for  the  sum- 
mer season.  It  may  be  taken  up  at  the  open- 
ing of  a  school  in  the  fall  and  pursued  as  long 
as  practicable,  when  it  may  be  laid  aside  and  its 
place  supplied  by  the  study  of  Physiology  or 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  233 

Natural  Philosophy.  Scientific  geology  is,  with 
few  exceptions,  beyond  the  scope  of  a  public- 
school  course.  Where  there  are  graded  schools 
or  high  schools,  the  whole  subject  of  geology 
can,  after  a  period  of  observation  and  classifica- 
tion as  above  described,  be  taken  up  and  thor- 
oughly studied  from  text-books. 
20* 


CHAPTER  XL 
METHODS    OF  INSTRUCTION.— Continued. 

GRAMMAR. 

lARLY  writers  on  the  subject  of  Eng- 
lish Grammar  adopted  the  theory,  that 
it  is  the  business  of  grammarians  to 
construct  a  language.  They  followed 
the  same  order  of  construction  that  Is  observed 
in  the  study  of  the  natural  sciences.  They 
presented  elementary  facts  and  treated  of  their 
names,  forces  and  uses;  they  set  forth  principles 
and  rules  that  are  to  determine  the  combinations 
and  uses  of  these  elementary  facts.  They  multi- 
plied definitions,  rules  and  exceptions,  and  then 
required  the  student  of  the  English  language  to 
carry  these  definitions,  principles,  rules  and  ex- 
ceptions Into  the  analysis  of  the  literature  of  the 
language,  chiefly  to  ascertain,  whether  the  authors 
of  that  literature  constructed  their  composition 
in  accordance  with  the  rules  laid  down  by  gram- 
marians, or  if  not  this,  then  to  apply  these  rules 

234 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  235 

to  the  composition  of  authors  in  order  to  show- 
that  the  theory  of  the  language  agrees  with  the 
structure,  or,  conversely,  that  the  structure  of 
the  language  agrees  with  the  theory.  The  er- 
roneous assumption  of  the  first  writers  on  Eng 
lish  grammar  has  been  copied  and  strictly  fol- 
lowed by  their  successors,  and,  therefore,  there 
are  no  text-books  on  English  grammar  of  any 
practical  value  as  school-books.  With  errone- 
ously-constructed text-books  and  the  blind  de- 
pendence of  most  teachers  upon  these  books, 
grammar,  as  taught  in  the  public  schools,  and, 
in  fact,  in  all  schools,  has  been  one  of  the  most 
disagreeable,  incomprehensible,  discouraging 
studies  with  which  pupils,  students  and  teachers 
have  been  embarrassed  and  annoyed. 

In  a  strict  sense,  grammar  is  the  science  of 
language.  It  is  the  business  of  the  grammarian, 
not  to  construct  a  language,  but  to  explain  a 
language  that  is  already  constructed  and  in  use. 
The  pupils  who  enter  the  public  schools,  and 
have  arrived  at  that  age  and  degree  of  advance- 
ment, at  which  the  study  of  grammar  may  with 
propriety  be  taken  up,  have  attained  a  certain 
degree  of  skill  and  facility  in  the  use  of  the 
English  language. 

Those  who  are  members  of  families,  in  which 
language  is  used  correcdy,  come  to  the  school- 
room with  habits  of  correct  speaking.     Those 


236  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

whose  associations  have  been  with  parents  and 
friends,  who  speak  the  EngHsh  language  incor- 
rectly, come  to  school  with  habits  of  incorrect 
speaking.  The  language  of  the  first  class — 
namely,  those  who  have  been  reared  to  use 
speech  correctly — will  not  be  improved  by  the 
study  of  grammar.  The  errors  of  the  second 
will  not  be  corrected  by  the  study  of  grammar, 
but  the  force  of  habit  will  be  counteracted  by 
imitation,  and  by  judicious  criticisms  from  the 
teacher  in  recitations  and  discourses. 

In  presenting  the  subject  of  English  grammar, 
or  the  science  of  the  English  language,  as  a 
study  in  the  public  schools,  the  question  to  be 
determined  is  to  what  extent  this  science  may 
be  profitably  studied  by  those  pupils,  who  con- 
stitute the  masses  in  these  schools,  and  who  are 
not  likely  to  attend  any  other  institution  of 
learning. 

If,  in  the  spelling-classes,  the  uses  of  capital 
letters  and  punctuation  marks  have  been  noted — 
as.  should  be  the  case  in  spelling  from  dictation 
and  discourse — and  if  in  the  reading-classes  the 
structure  of  sentences,  the  meaning  of  words 
and  the  uses  of  punctuation  have  been  properly 
studied,  there  is  little  remaining  to  be  taught  on 
the  subject  of  grammar,  to  pupils  in  the  public 
schools,  that  properly  comes  within  the  scope  of 
these  institutions. 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION,  237 

It  is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  the  subject 
of  grammar  can  be  taken  up  as  a  study  in  these 
schools,  without  consuming  time  that  might  be 
much  more  profitably  devoted  to  other  branches 
of  learning.  Nevertheless,  in  order  to  assist 
those  who  deem  it  essential  that  the  ''mother 
language"  shall  be  studied  in  the  schools  of  the 
people,  a  practical  method  of  instruction  is  here 
set  forth. 

THE   FIRST  LESSON   IN   GRAMMAR. 

First,  then,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  writer  and 
teacher  of  English  grammar  to  explain  the 
structure  of  the  language,  with  the  use  of  which 
the  pupil  is  to  a  very  considerable  extent  familiar. 
Pupils  have  already  learned,  in  the  reading-les- 
sons, what  is  meant  by  the  term  sentence — a 
collection  of  words  expressing  a  complete 
thought.  "  Merchants  sell  goods,"  is  a  collection 
of  words  declaring  a  fact,  conveying  an  idea,  ex- 
pressing a  thought.  Here  are  three  words  com- 
posing this  sentence.  Let  the  teacher,  in  his 
first  lesson  to  a  class  entering  upon  the  study 
of  grammar,  write  this  or  a  similar  sentence  on 
the  blackboard.  There  are  two  principal  parts 
to  every  sentence.  Before  a  fact  can  be  de- 
clared, or  an  idea  expressed,  there  must  be  a  sub- 
ject concerning  which  the  fact  is  to  be  declared, 
or  of  which  the  idea  is  to  be  expressed.     That  is, 


238  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

before  a  man  writes  or  talks  he  must  have  some- 
thing to  write  or  talk  about ;  this  something 
of  which  he  is  to  write  or  speak  is  called  the 
subject.  In  the  sentence  before  us,  of  what  do 
we  speak  ?  Clearly  of  merchants ;  the  declara- 
tion is  concerning  merchants,  and  therefore  mer- 
chants is  the  subject. 

The  second  part  of  every  sentence  is  evidently 
that  which  is  said  of  the  subject.  If  a  man 
wishes  to  write  or  to  speak,  it  is  not  only  neces- 
sary that  he  shall  have  a  subject  to  write  and 
speak  of,  but  it  is  also  necessary  that  he  shall 
write  or  say  something  about  that  subject.  That 
which  he  says  of  the  subject  is  called  the  predi- 
cate. In  this  sentence  before  us  it  is  said  of 
** merchants"  that  they  "sell  goods;"  therefore 
sell  goods  is  the  predicate.  The  sentence  is  thus 
divided  into  two  principal  parts,  of  "  merchants," 
the  subject,  and  "  sell  goods,"  the  predicate.  Now 
let  the  teacher  write  upon  the  blackboard,  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  six  or  more  sentences,  and 
require  the  pupils  to  name  the  subject  and  the 
predicate  in  each.  Let  him  then  invite  the 
pupils  to  suggest  sentences  of  their  own,  which 
he  may  also  write  on  the  blackboard,  so  that  the 
subject  and  predicate  may  be  distinguished. 

This  is  a  process  of  analysis.  The  language  is 
taken  up,  and  the  learner  proceeds,  by  analysis, 
to  resolve  sentences  into  their  parts,  for  the  pur- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  239 

pose  of  discovering  the  relation  of  those  parts ; 
beginning  first  with  the  largest  divisions  the 
process  is  to  arrive,  by  a  series  of  subdivisions, 
to  the  simple  elements.  The  teacher  may  indi- 
cate a  general  form  of  analysis,  which  may  be 
followed  by  the  pupils  in  separating  sentences 
into  subject  and  predicate ;  thus,  "  Merchants 
sell  goods  '*  is  a  sentence,  because  it  is  a  collec- 
tion of  words  expressing  a  complete  thought. 
"  Merchants  "  is  the  subject,  because  it  is  that  of 
which  an  affirmation  is  made.  "Sell  goods"  is 
the  predicate,  because  it  is  that  which  is  affirmed 
of  the  subject.  The  teacher  should  require  each 
member  of  the  class  to  bring  to  the  next  recita- 
tion twelve  simple  sentences  written  on  paper, 
with  a  perpendicular  line  drawn  between  the 
subject  and  the  predicate  of  each  sentence.  This 
much  will  be  sufficient  for  one  lesson. 

SECOND   LESSON. 

In  the  second  lesson  the  teacher  may  explain 
that,  when  two  or  more  sentences  expressing  a 
complete  thought  are  united,  they  are,  when 
taken  together,  called  a  compound  sentence. 
There  are,  therefore,  two  classes  of  sentences, 
simple  sentences  and  compound  sentences.  The 
drill  in  the  second  lesson  should  be  the  analysis 
of  compound  sentences  by  separating  them, 
first  into  sirnpl^^^gj^^i^s  and  then  stating  the 

UNIVERSITY 


240  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

subject  and  predicate  of  each.  Let  the  teacher, 
before  dismissing^  the  class,  require  of  each  mem- 
ber to  produce  at  the  next  lesson  twelve  origi- 
nal compound  sentences  with  a  perpendicular 
line  drawn  between  the  subject  and  the  predi- 
cate. If  the  teacher  will  impress  upon  the  mind 
of  the  pupil  that,  in  writing  a  sentence,  it  is  only- 
necessary  to  select  a  subject  and  say  something 
about  it,  the  class  will  easily  perform  these  writ- 
ten exercises. 

THIRD    LESSON. 

In  the  third  lesson  the  work  of  analysis  may 
be  extended  one  step  farther — that  is,  the  sub- 
ject and  the  predicate  may  be  resolved  into 
parts  and  these  parts  may  be  considered  each 
by  itself.  Take  the  original  sentence,  "  Mer- 
chants sell  goods  ;"  the  subject  is  comprised  in  a 
single  word,  "merchants,"  and  that  word  is  a 
name  applied  to  a  class  of  persons  engaged  in 
the  business  which  is  indicated  by  the  word. 
The  predicate  is  composed  of  two  words,  "  sell " 
and  "  goods."  The  first  word,  **  sell,"  explains 
what  the  "  merchants  "  do — namely,  that  they  sell 
or  dispose  of,  for  a  consideration,  something. 
"  Goods"  is  the  general  name  employed  to  de- 
scribe what  the  "  merchants  "  "  sell." 

Take  another  sentence :  "  Good  girls  study 
diligently ;"  here  the  subject  is  composed  of  two 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  24 1 

words,  "good"  and  "girls  ;"  the  predicate  is  also 
composed  of  two  words,  "  study "  and  "  dili- 
gently." The  first  word,  "  good,"  describes  the 
kind  of  girls  of  which  the  affirmation  is  made ; 
"  girls"  is  a  name  applied  to  a  class  or  to  a  col- 
lection of  individuals;  "study"  tells  what  these 
individuals  do,  and  "diligently"  tells  how  they 
do  it.  Let  the  teacher,  if  he  has  not  before  him 
a  convenient  number  of  examples  in  some  text- 
book, provide  a  number  of  sentences,  which  the 
class  should  analyze  by  defining  in  a  general 
way  the  office  performed  by  each  word  in  the 
sentence,  always  requiring  the  pupil  to  begin  by 
dividing  a  sentence  into  subject  and  predicate, 
to  proceed  by  first  considering  the  words  in  the 
subject,  and  after  that  the  words  in  the  predi- 
cate, stating  the  office  performed  by  each.  Re- 
quire each  member  of  the  class  to  write  six  sen- 
tences in  which  both  subject  and  predicate  shall 
comprise  two  or  more  words.  These  original 
sentences  may  be  brought  to  the  next  recitation, 
and  be  made  subjects  of  analysis, 

FOURTH    LESSON. 

The  pupils  have  now  learned  that  in  the  sub- 
ject of  every  sentence  there  is  a  word  which 
stands  as  the  name  of  a  person  or  thing.  The 
time  has  arrived  when  the  fact  may  be  com- 
municated to  the  class,  that  these  words  repre- 
21  Q 


242  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

senting  persons  or  things  are  called  nouns ;  let 
the  class  point  out  the  nouns  in  the  sentences 
they  have  written,  and  In  numerous  other  sen- 
tences, which  the  teacher  may  either  cite  from 
the  text-book  on  grammar,  or  write  upon  the 
blackboard,  or  point  to  In  the  charts  employed 
in  the  spelling-  and  reading-lessons.  Not  only 
point  out  the  words  that  are  nouns,  but  give  a 
reason  why  they  are  nouns;  thus,  "merchants" 
Is  a  noun,  because  It  Is  the  name  of  a  class  of 
Individuals.  City  Is  a  noun,  because  It  Is  the 
name  of  a  large  town.  Potato  is  a  noun,  be- 
cause It  Is  the  name  of  a  vegetable.  Acorn  is  a 
noun,  because  it  is  the  name  of  a  nut.  Rose  Is 
a  noun,  because  It  is  the  name  of  a  flower.  Bone 
Is  a  noun,  because  it  Is  the  name  of  a  kind  of 
animal  matter.  Permit  the  pupils  to  give  their 
own  reasons,  the  teacher  taking  care  simply 
that  the  reason  is  sufficient  to  determine  the 
fact  that  the  word  Is  a  noun.  Require  the  mem- 
bers of  the  class  to  write  twelve  sentences  with 
the  nouns  underscored. 

FIFTH    LESSON. 

In  the  predicate  of  every  sentence  there  is 
also  a  leading  word,  which  describes  the  leading 
word  in  the  subject  by  telling  what  It  does,  by 
Indicating  its  action,  state,  condition  or  being; 
this  word  the  teacher  may  inform  his  class  Is 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  243 

called  a  verb.  By  referring  again  to  the  original 
sentence, "  Merchants  sell  goods,"  the  word  which 
describes  "merchants"  by  stating  what  they 
do  is  "  sell."  It,  therefore,  is  a  verb — is  a  verb, 
because  it  describes  the  subject  of  the  sentence 
by  indicating  action.  The  sentences  written  by 
the  class  should  be  re-examined  and  the  verbs 
therein  pointed  out.  They  should  not  simply 
be  pointed  out  as  verbs,  but  a  reason  given  by 
each  pupil  for  calling  the  words  selected  verbs. 
The  requirement  to  write  twelve  sentences 
should  be  repeated,  with  the  additional  direction 
that  the  verbs  should  be  underscored. 

SIXTH    LESSON. 

In  the  sixth  lesson  adjectives  should  be  de- 
fined, pointed  out  and  reasons  given.  Thus, 
"  Good  girls  study  diligently."  "  Good"  is  an  ad- 
jective, because  it  modifies  "  girls  "  by  indicating 
their  character.  After  the  sentences  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  pupils  have  been  examined  and 
the  adjectives  therein  pointed  out,  teachers 
should  require  the  production  by  each  pupil  of 
twelve  or  more  original  sentences,  each  contain- 
ing an  adjective  underscored. 

The  adverb,  the  pronoun,  the  preposition,  the 
conjunction  and  the  interjection  should  be  made 
subjects  of  lessons,  in  which  they  should,  be 
treated  in  the  same  manner  that  has  been  pur- 


244  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

sued  in  the  study  of  nouns  and  other  parts  of 
speech.  The  sentences  in  each  exercise  should 
be  analyzed,  and  all  the  facts,  as  far  as  learned 
by  the  pupils,  stated  in  each  analysis,  beginning 
with  the  division  of  the  sentence  into  subject 
and  predicate  and  ending  with  the  naming  of 
the  part  of  speech  to  which  the  word  belongs, 
and  stating  a  reason  for  the  classification.  The 
writing  of  sentences  in  illustration  of  every  les- 
son is  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  exercises 
given,  and  must,  therefore,  be  insisted  upon 
throughout  the  study  of  grammar. 

LESSONS    ON   THE   VERB. 

In  the  preceding  lessons  the  pupils  are  sup- 
posed to  have  learned  to  distinguish  words 
found  in  sentences,  to  classify  them  into  "parts 
of  speech,"  and  to  use  those  parts  of  speech  in 
the  construction  of  original  sentences.  A  class 
that  has  been  thoroughly  drilled  in  these  exercises 
is  prepared  to  proceed  to  the  study  of  sentences, 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  more  minutely 
the  relations  of  their  parts  and  of  the  words 
composing  them  to  each  other.  It  has  already 
been  discovered  that  in  every  sentence  there 
must  be  a  subject,  the  principal  word  in  which  is 
a  noun ;  every  sentence  also  has  a  predicate, 
the  principal  word  in  which  is  a  verb  describing 
the  principal  word  in  the  subject.     The  leading 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  245 

noun  in  the  subject  of  the  sentence  is  called  the 
subject  of  the  verb  which  describes  it.  A  sen- 
tence may  be  composed  of  two  words,  one  in 
the  subject  and  one  in  the  predicate ;  or,  both 
subject  and  predicate  may  comprise  a  number 
of  words,  and  hence  there  are  incomplex  and 
complex  subjects  and  predicates. 

In  analyzing  a  sentence,  therefore,  it  is  first 
separated  into  subject  and  predicate,  and  then 
each  word  entering  into  the  composition  of  the 
subject  is  considered  separately  in  order  to  see 
in  what  manner  it  modifies  the  principal  word 
in  that  subject,  and  likewise  every  word  in  the 
predicate  is  considered  separately  so  as  to  see 
in  what  manner  it  modifies  the  principal  word 
in  the  predicate. 

Sentences  are  usually  classified  as  declara- 
tive, imperative,  interrogative,  exclamatory  and 
hypothetical.  These  should  be  clearly  defined, 
so  that  pupils  will  be  able  to  distinguish  at  sight 
to  which  of  these  classes  a  given  sentence  be- 
longs. In  every  sentence  action  or  existence  is 
expressed.  Wherever  action  is  expressed  there 
is  necessarily  an  agent  producing  the  action, 
sometimes  also  a  recipient  which  receives  the 
effect  or  action  produced  by  the  agent. 

The  principal  verb  used  in  a  sentence  ex- 
pressing action,  that  is  received  by  a  recipient, 
is  classed  as  a  transitive  verb,  and  those  verbs 
21* 


246  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

in  sentences  in  which  the  action  is  limited  to  the 
agent,  but  does  not  extend  to  a  recipient,  are 
called  intransitive  verbs ;  thus,  in  the  sentence, 
"  James  struck  Charles,"  the  verb  struck  repre- 
sents the  agent  "James"  as  producing  an  action 
which  took  effect  upon  "  Charles  " ;  struck  is  there- 
fore called  a  transitive  verb ;  it  is  a  transitive 
verb,  because  the  action  produced  by  James  is 
carried  across,  is  transferred,  to  Charles,  where 
it  takes  effect.  In  the  sentence,  "Boys  play," 
the  verb  play  represents  an  action  which  is 
wholly  limited  to  the  agent  boys,  producing  that 
action,  but  does  not  represent  action  as  taking 
effect  upon  a  recipient ;  it  is  therefore  called  an 
intransitive  verb,  because  the  action  is  not  car- 
ried across,  transferred,  to  a  recipient.  After 
this  distinction  has  been  thus  drawn,  a  class 
should  be  required  to  write  a  number  of  sen- 
tences containing  transitive  verbs,  and  a  num- 
ber containing  intransitive  verbs,  and  at  the 
next  recitation  they  should  be  required  to  state 
whether  the  verbs  used  are  transitive  or  intran- 
sitive. 

It  frequently  occurs  that  the  agent  producing 
action  expressed  by  the  verb  does  not  precede 
the  verb,  as  in  the  example  given  above,  "  James 
struck  Charles,"  but  follows  the  verb,  as  is  the 
case  when  the  sentence  is  reversed,  "  Charles 
was  struck  by  James."     These  two  forms  of  the 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  247 

verb  are  called,  by  some  grammarians,  "voices." 
The  direct  form,  that  is,  that  which  is  preceded 
by  the  agent  and  followed  by  the  recipient,  is 
called  the  "  active  voice"  of  the  transitive  verb, 
and  that  in  which  the  verb  is  preceded  by  the 
recipient,  and  is  followed  by  the  agent,  which 
is  connected  to  it  by  the  preposition  by,  is  called 
the  "passive  voice"  of  the  transitive  verb.  In 
the  sentence,  "  Our  hopes  flatter  us,"  flattery 
being  preceded  by  the  agent  hopes  and  followed 
by  the  recipient  us,  is  called  a  "  transitive  verb 
of  the  active  voice."  In  the  sentence,  "  We  are 
flattered  by  our  hopes,"  are  flattered,  being  pre- 
ceded by  the  recipient  we  and  followed  by  the 
agent  hopes,  is  called  a  "  transitive  verb  of  the 
passive  voice."  The  teacher  should  write  on 
the  board,  or  provide  from  books,  twelve  or 
more  sentences  containing  transitive  verbs.  He 
should  require  the  pupils  to  change  these  from 
one  form  of  the  transitive  verb  to  the  other,  and 
to  give  the  reason  why  one  form  is  the  active 
voice  and  why  the  other  form  is  the  passive 
voice  in  each  sentence.  At  the  close  of  such 
an  exercise,  the  direction  to  write  sentences 
should  be  renewed.  They  must  be  sentences 
containing  transitive  verbs  writteq  in  both  forms. 
The  intransitive  verb  should  be  made  the  sub- 
ject of  a  separate  lesson,  which  should  consist 
in  writing  a  number  of  ^enteqces  employing  that 


248  ART  GF  TEACHTTSTG  SCHOOL. 

form  of  the  verb,  and  in  analyzing  these  sen- 
tences in  the  manner  already  indicated. 

LESSONS   ON    NOUNS. 

It  will  be  profitable  to  suspend  the  lessons  on 
the  verb  at  this  point  for  the  purpose  of  consid- 
ering nouns,  so  that  the  knowledge  of  the  pupil 
can  be  applied  in  the  analysis  of  sentences. 
The  lessons  must  be  carried  on  without  variation 
of  the  principles  which  govern  their  selection 
and  treatment.  The  division  of  nouns  may 
be  taken  up  in  one  recitation,  and  the  distinc- 
tions of  proper,  common,  abstract  and  collective 
nouns  clearly  marked  and  then  illustrated  in 
original  sentences.  Person,  number,  gender 
and  case  should  each  be  made  the  subject  of  a 
lesson,  each  lesson  to  be  illustrated  by  the  pro- 
duction of  original  sentences.  Following  these 
distinctions  of  nouns,  the  person  and  number  of 
the  verb  may  be  taken  up  and  defined. 

Parsing,  by  which  is  meant  the  mentioning  in 
order  of  the  peculiar  variations  of  a  word  and 
the  relation  it  sustains  to  other  words,  may  now 
be  introduced  to  the  class.  It  should  be  a  daily 
exercise,  pursued,  of  course,  only  as  far  as  the 
knowledge  of  the  pupil  is  prepared  to  carry  it ; 
thus,  at  this  stage  of  the  progress  of  the  study 
of  grammar,  the  pupils  may  parse  every  noun 
in  the  sentence  by  stating  its  kind,  person,  num- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  2/i^i^ 

ber,  gender  and  case.  Verbs  may  be  parsed  by 
stating  whether  they  are  transitive  or  intransi- 
tive, whether  of  the  active  or  passive  voice,  what 
nouns  they  agree  with  in  person  and  number. 
The  analysis  of  sentences  should  be  continued 
throughout  the  study  of  grammar. 

Mode  and  Tense. — One  of  the  most  difficult 
subjects  for  a  class  in  the  study  of  English 
grammar  is  the  distinction  of  modes  and  tenses 
of  verbs.  Much  confusion  and  embarrassment 
will  be  avoided  by  taking  up  one  thing  at  a  time, 
and  making  it  thoroughly  familiar  to  the  class 
by  analysis,  by  parsing  and  by  writing  original 
sentences.  Refuse  absolutely  to  proceed  one 
step  beyond  what  is  familiar  ground  to  the  whole 
class.  It  is  of  small  consequence  how  deep  and 
how  dense  the  darkness  is  in  front,  if  all  is  clear 
in  the  rear.  But  whenever  there  is  a  step  taken 
into  that  darkness,  the  light  disappears,  and 
darkness  is  all  around;  then  every  effort  to  pro- 
ceed simply  makes  matters  worse. 

In  studying  relative  pronouns,  the  variations 
and  distinctions  of  adjectives,  the  force  of  con- 
junctions, the  relations  of  phrases,  infinitives 
and  participials,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  principle  so  often  insisted  upon  here,  of 
attempting  but  one  thing  at  a  time,  shall  be  ob- 
served. Classes  of  pupils  who  have  arrived  at 
that  age,  when  but  one  or  two  years  more  can 


2 so  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

be  ^iven  to  common-school  studies,  may  thus, 
with  a  degree  of  profit,  be  led  through  a  limited 
course  in  English  grammar.  It  is  much  better 
to  proceed  only  so  far  as  to  the  distinction  of 
the  parts  of  speech  and  their  relative  uses  in  the 
construction  of  sentences  with  a  clear  compre- 
hension, than  to  attempt  the  study  of  the  numer- 
ous variations  of  words  and  their  intricate  com- 
binations and  complexities  in  the  construction 
of  sentences,  with  no  prospect  of  having  a  clear 
idea  of  anything,  though  a  text-book  shall  have 
been  gone  through  with. 

From  what  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of 
teaching  grammar,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
method  here  recommended  supersedes  the  es- 
tablished practice  in  nearly  all  schools,  public  or 
private,  of  all  grades.  The  basis  of  the  study 
as  here  set  forth  is  the  sentence,  and  one  feature 
or  characteristic  is  taken  up  at  a  time  and  dis- 
posed of,  and  the  lesson  given  one  day  is  illus- 
trated at  the  next  recitation  in  a  number  of 
original  sentences  prepared  by  the  pupils. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  study  grammar  in  order 
to  acquire  the  ability  to  speak  and  write  cor- 
rectly. The  great  masses,  who  receive  only 
so  much  education  as  can  be  given  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  do  not  learn  to  speak  and  write 
their  "  mother  tongue"  by  the  study  of  grammar. 
This  branch  of  learning,  therefore,  in  point  of 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  2$  I 

Utility,  takes  rank  far  below  arithmetic,  which  in 
turn  ranks  below  the  material  sciences.  If  some 
author,  comprehending  the  work  necessary  to 
be .  done,  and  possessing  that  courage  which 
would  permit  him  to  depart  from  received 
methods,  would  treat  the  subject  of  English 
grammar  logically  and  concisely  in  a  text-book 
for  the  public  schools,  there  would  then  be  less 
objection  to  introducing  it  there  as  a  study;  un- 
til that  shall  be  done,  its  introduction  is  more 
likely  to  result  in  confusion  of  ideas  and  distaste 
for  study  than  in  any  good  to  the  girls  and 
boys  in  the  public  schools.  Skillful  teachers 
may  do  much  to  compensate  for  the  short-com- 
ings of  book-makers ;  nevertheless,  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  branch  of  learning  in  the  schools  of  the 
people  that,  up  to  this  time,  has  utterly  baffled 
its  advocates  and  authors  in  their  countless  efforts 
to  arrange  it  properly  in  lessons  for  juvenile 
learners  is,  to  say  the  least,  an  act  of  very  ques- 
tionable propriety. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
METHODS   Ofi  INSTRUCTION.— Continued. 


ANATOMY,    PHYSIOLOGY   AND    HYGIENE. 

UMAN  anatomy,  which  is  the  part  of 
the  general  science  of  anatomy  that 
may  appropriately,  nay,  that  should,  be 
introduced  into  public  schools  as  a 
study,  treats  of  the  structure  of  the  human  body. 
Physiology  is  a  term  applied  to  the  science 
which  treats  of  the  uses  of  the  different  organs 
that  enter  into  the  anatomy  of  the  body.  Hy- 
giene relates  to  the  laws  by  which  the  healthful 
action  of  these  parts  is  governed  and  pre- 
served. 

The  human  body  consists  of  systems  of  or- 
gans. There  is  a  system  of  bones,  a  system  of 
muscles,  a  system  of  digestive  organs,  a  system 
of  circulatory  organs,  a  system  of  respiratory 
organs  and  a  system  of  nerves.  There  are 
secretory  organs,  lymphatic  vessels,  vocal  or- 
gans, organs  of  taste,  of  smell,  of  sight  and  of 
hearing.     These  several  systems  entering  into 

252 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  253 

the  composition  of  the  human  body  are  to  such 
an  extent  distinct  from  each  other,  that  they 
may  be  taken  up  and  studied  without  reference 
to  any  particular  order.  It  is  immaterial  whether 
the  bones,  the  muscles,  the  digestive  organs  or 
the  circulatory  or  respiratory  organs  are  studied 
first,  but  it  is  material  that  each  system,  as  it  is 
taken  up,  shall  be  thoroughly  studied  and  clearly 
understood  before  another  is  presented. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  frame- 
work of  the  human  body,  it  may  be  well  to  be- 
gin the  study  of  anatomy  at  the  system  of 
bones.  A  teacher  may  procure  specimens  of 
bones  of  animals ;  he  may  obtain  these  fresh 
from  the  butcher-shop,  so  as  to  show  how  they 
are  bound  together  at  the  joints  by  ligaments. 
Describing  the  joint  in  the  class,  he  can  dis- 
course upon  its  structure  without  any  especial 
reference  as  to  whether  the  muscular  system, 
the  tendons  and  ligaments  have  already  been 
studied.  He  can  explain  at  the  time  sufficient 
for  the  purpose  of  the  demonstrations,  and  show 
how  bones  are  bound  together,  and  how  mus- 
cles are  attached  to  them.  He  may  explain  the 
composition  of  bone,  the  effect  heat  and  cold, 
age  and  exposure,  have  on  it. 

Numerous  text-books  on  anatomy  admirably 
treat  of  bones,  their  formation,  combination  and 
place  in    the   human   frame,  and   describe  the 
22 


254  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

bones  of  each  part  separately  and  clearly.  For 
a  class  supplied  with  these  books,  the  teacher 
need  only  be  careful  to  provide  suitable  illustra- 
tions that  will  enforce  the  lesson  upon  the 
comprehension  of  the  pupils,  and  enable  them 
to  carry  the  ideas  of  the  school-room  from  the 
books  out  into  fields  of  practical  observation. 
This  method  must  be  continued,  not  only  in  the 
lesson  on  bones,  but  also,  through  the  lessons 
on  muscles,  circulatory,  respiratory  and  other 
organs. 

Muscles,  as  developed  on  the  leg  of  a  rabbit, 
a  squirrel,  a  frog  or  a  chicken,  will  admirably 
illustrate  the  manner  in  which  the  fibres  are 
bound  together  in  bundles  and  how  they  are 
extended  into  tendons  and  attached  to  the  liga- 
ments at  the  joints. 

A  set  of  anatomical  charts  should  be  at  hand, 
from  which  the  teacher  can  demonstrate  the 
relations  of  different  parts  in  the  bony  structure, 
the  functions  or  uses  of  bones,  and  give  to  his 
class  a  much  more  correct  idea  of  the  relative 
position  of  the  parts  of  the  human  system  than 
he  would  otherwise  be  able  to  do.  How  bones 
are  affected  by  habits  of  sitting,  walking  and 
dressing  should  be  explained  at  the  end  of  a 
series  of  lessons  on  this  subject. 

The  Muscles, — The  lessons  on  the  muscles  of 
the  human  body,  their  structure  and  arrange- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  255 

ment  should  be  conducted  very  much  in  the 
same  manner  as  are  those  on  the  bones.  No 
part  of  this  science  can  be  profitably  studied  by 
a  class  on  the  question-and-answer  method. 
Pupils  should  be  required  to  describe  parts  of 
systems,  as  the  bones  or  muscles  of  the  head, 
the  bones  or  muscles  of  the  leg,  the  feet,  the 
arm,  or  of  the  hand.  One  pupil  may  describe 
the  bones  of  a  certain  part,  another  the  muscles, 
and  a  third  may  state  the  functions  or  uses  of 
the  bones  and  muscles.  As  the  class  advances, 
the  veins  and  arteries,  the  nerves,  the  skin,  and 
the  hygienic  principles  that  govern  the  develop- 
ment and  health  of  the  parts  and  organs  under 
consideration  may  also  be  described  by  the 
members  of  the  class. 

This  whole  subject  has  been  so  practically 
presented  by  the  authors  of  text-books,  that 
there  is  little  occasion  for  doing  more  here  than 
to  urge,  most  earnestly  upon  the  school  authori- 
ties and  teachers,  its  introduction  as  one  of  the 
branches  of  learning  to  be  studied  in  every 
school. 

The  study  of  arithmetic  may  be  cut  short, 
grammar  may  be  altogether  excluded,  exercises 
in  reading  may  be  less  frequent,  but  the  study 
of  anatomy,  physiology  and  hygiene,  the  study 
of  our  own  bodies,  the  organs  of  which  they  are 
composed,  the  nature  and  uses  of  these  organs, 


256  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

how  to  secure  their  development,  how  to  pre- 
serve them  in  health,  how  to  treat  them  in  case 
of  accident  or  disease,  is  of  so  much  and  of  such 
vital  importance  to  all  men  in  every  condition 
of  life,  that  it  should  be  a  work  of  supererogation 
to  plead  for  its  introduction  as  a  special  study  in 
the  schools  of  the  people. 

NATURAL    PHILOSOPHY. 

Natural  Philosophy,  so  far  as  it  treats  of  the 
application  and  extent  of  forces  met  with  in  the 
operations  of  life,  should  be  made  the  subject  of 
study  in  public  schools.  The  power  of  water, 
the  power  of  steam,  the  power  of  air,  of  elec- 
tricity, and  the  power  of  mechanical  contrivances 
everywhere  encountered,  should  be  made  famil- 
iar to  the  young,  so  that  they  may  be  understood, 
whether  they  are  to  be  used,  resisted  or  con- 
trolled. The  possession  of  apparatus  to  illus- 
trate principles  in  Natural  Philosophy  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  if  any  considerable  amount  of 
good  is  to  be  accomplished  by  these  lessons. 
Where  such  apparatus  is  not  supplied  by  the 
school  authorities,  teachers,  by  the  exercise  of 
an  ordinary  amount  of  skill  and  ingenuity,  may 
contrive  pieces  of  apparatus  that  will  be  useful 
in  illustrating  many  lessons.  A  cord  and  two 
or  three  pulleys,  two  ox  three  small  spheres, 
rincrs,  spheroids  and  small  cog-wheels  can  be 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  25/ 

obtained  at  a  hardware  store  or  at  some  ma- 
chine-shop, and  will  serve  to  demonstrate 
many  of  the  most  interesting  and  useful  propo- 
sitions. 

If  there  are  manufacturing  establishments  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  schoolhouse,  the  teacher 
should  take  his  pupils  thither  and  explain  the 
mechanical  forces  employed  in  the  operations 
carried  on  there.  If  water  supplies  the  power, 
lessons  on  hydrostatics  may  be  illustrated; 
if  steam,  then  the  steam-engine,  its  parts  and 
its  mode  of  working,  the  extent  of  its  power 
and  the  contrivances  for  applying  its  forces  to 
turning  machinery,  should  be  explained.  The 
differences  between  stationary  and  locomotive 
engines,  between  high-pressure  and  low-pres- 
sure engines,  can  be  practically  studied  in  the 
presence  of  these  machines.  The  use  of  the 
blackboard  to  sketch  the  parts  of  engines  and 
machines  should  be  resorted  to  frequently,  so 
that  before  pupils  are  taken  to  observe  the 
actual  working  of  a  steam-engine  they  will  be 
conversant  with  the  internal  arrangement  of 
the  parts  and  the  application  of  steam  to  them. 
The  power  of  water-currents  and  air-currents 
may  be  frequently  observed  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year  and  at  all  places.  It  is  only  required 
that  the  teacher  will  seize  upon  the  occasions, 
and  turn  the  phenomena  to  practical  use  as  illus 

22*  R 


25 8  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

tratlons  of  the  principles  set  forth  in  the  text- 
books. 

In  the  study  of  Natural  Philosophy  the  con- 
stant aim  should  be  to  carry  the  principles  ob- 
tained in  the  books  out  into  actual  operations. 
The  use  of  the  lever  is  so  common  that  pupils 
will  be  delighted  to  understand  the  relative 
strength  and  force  of  the  mechanical  power,  that 
may  be  gained  by  the  use  of  a  lever  In  different 
positions. 

This  branch  of  the  physical  sciences  has  been 
so  successfully  treated  In  text-books  that  teach- 
ers will  find  little  difficulty  in  arranging  lessons 
systematically  for  the  Instruction  of  classes,  and 
if  these  lessons  are  thoroughly  taught — not  re- 
cited by  systems  of  questions  and  answers,  but 
fully  explained  and  illustrated  by  such  apparatus 
as  the  teacher  may  be  able  to  procure — and  If 
the  principles  that  are  learned  are  afterward 
recognized  In  actual  use — that  Is,  if  pupils  are 
trained  to  determine  In  their  minds  the  philos- 
ophy of  action  as  observed  In  manufacturing 
operations,  in  agricultural  operations.  In  all  the 
motions  and  rests  where  mechanical  forces  are 
applied, — this  will  be  made  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting branches  of  learning  taught  In  the 
public  schools. 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  259 


CHEMISTRY. 

The  science  which  treats  of  the  nature  of  the 
elements,  the  laws  of  their  combinations,  their 
affinities  and  uses,  is  so  closely  allied  to  every- 
thing that  is  within  us  and  around  us,  that, its 
elementary  principles  should  be  made  the  sub- 
jects of  study  in  the  public  schools.  It  is  ad- 
mitted that  chemistry,  in  its  largest  sense,  can- 
not be  successfully  studied  without  the  use  of 
apparatus  and  appliances  far  beyond  what  can 
be  supplied  to  teachers  in  the  public  schools; 
nevertheless,  the  names  of  the  solid  and  fluid 
elements,  their  general  nature  and  uses  which 
enter  into  the  composition  of  the  human  body 
and  of  the  earth,  into  all  solid  and  liquid  matter, 
may  be  taught  to  pupils  who  receive  their  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools.  The  names  of  the 
metals,  their  characteristics  and  their  uses,  the 
names  and  properties  of  the  elements  of  the 
most  familiar  compounds,  as  water,  air  and  salt, 
will  be  studied  with  pleasure  and  profit.  The 
relations  of  acids  and  alkalies,  the  effects  of  heat 
on  all  matter,  the  effects  of  sunlight,  of  air,  of 
water,  in  their  numerous  combinations  and  rela- 
tions, may  be  made  subjects  of  observation  and 
explanation  that  will  be  within  the  comprehension 
of  such  pupils  as  are  found  in  the  public-school 
classes. 


260  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

If  apparatus  can  be  procured  to  illustrate  the 
effects  of  electricity,  to  generate  gases  by  simple 
methods,  and  to  perform  some  of  the  most  sim- 
ple and  striking  experiments  with  the  natural 
elements,  the  use  of  such  apparatus  will  con- 
tribute greatly  to  the  interest  and  value  of  the 
instruction.  If  it  is  found  impracticable  to  intro- 
duce the  study  of  chemistry  into  mixed  schools, 
a  teacher  may  provide  himself  with  suitable 
text-books  on  this  subject,  from  which  he  can 
prepare  short  discourses  or  lectures  on  the  most 
important  lesson  in  the  science.  Such  lectures 
can  be  delivered  to  the  whole  school  at  appointed 
intervals,  and  should  be  followed  by  questions 
on  the  facts  and  principles  set  forth  therein. 
By  this  method,  during  each  school-term,  many 
of  the  important  principles  may  be  taught  to  a 
school.  The  pupils  may  thus  be  led  into  habits 
of  observation  and  research,  that  will  enable 
them  to  read  understandingly  and  to  discourse 
intelligently  on  the  operations  of  nature.  It  is 
admitted  that  such  instruction  is  likely  to  be 
superficial,  yet  it  is  the  only  instruction  on  these 
subjects  the  large  majority  of  boys  and  girls  in 
the  United  States  can  possibly  receive  in  their 
school-days.  Those  whose  education  will  not 
extend  beyond  the  public-school  curriculum  will 
be  greatly  benefited  thereby,  though  it  be  super- 
ficial, and  those  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  re- 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION. 


261 


celve  the  advantages  of  a  higher  education  will 
not  be  affected  injuriously  by  this  preliminary 
and  general  view  of  the  elements  of  sciences 
which,  in  their  subsequent  progress,  they  will 
be  required  to  study  more  minutely  and  thor- 
oughly. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
METHODS    OF  INSTRUCTION.— Continued. 

PENMANSHIP. 

HE  suggestion  made  in  the  chapter  on 
teaching  the  alphabet,  that  every  child 
in  school  should  be  provided  with  a 
slate  and  pencil,  is  here  repeated. 
Children  accustomed  to  the  use  of  a  pencil  in 
forming  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  in  sketch- 
ing pictures  on  their  slates,  attain  a  consider- 
able degree  of  skill  in  the  art  of  drawing  before 
regular  lessons  in  penmanship  are  taken  up. 
Though  letters,  as  used  in  writing,  differ  very 
widely  in  form,  there  are  really  but  few  simple 
elementary  forms  employed  in  the  art  of  pen- 
manship. The  practice  of  every  child  should 
begin  by  exercises  on  these  simple  elements, 
taking  the  simplest  of  them  first.  The  method 
formerly  pursued  was  to  set  copies  for  children 
in  straight  lines,  and  after  a  certain  degree  of 
facility  was    acquired   in    forming   these    lines, 

262 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  263 

copies  of  hooks  were  set,  and  these  were  followed 
by  ovals.  When  such  copies  are  given  without 
any  explanations,  they  are  arbitrary,  and  chil- 
dren fail  to  see  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
marking  over  many  sheets  of  paper  in  straight 
lines,  hooks  and  O's,  but  if  the  teacher  will  ex- 
plain and  illustrate  on  the  blackboard  that  the 
strai^rht  line  and  the  hook  and  the  oval  are  real- 
ly  parts  of  letters,  and  that  one  or  more  of  these 
parts  are  used  in  the  formation  of  every  letter 
in  the  alphabet,  the  lesson  will  be  invested  with 
a  degree  of  interest  that  cannot  otherwise  be 
given. 

Though  the  slate  and  pencil  are  admirably 
adapted  to  the  execution  of  elementary  lessons 
in  drawing,  they  should  not  be  employed  in  les- 
sons in  penmanship.  The  object  of  these  les- 
sons is  to  exercise  the  pupils  in  forming  letters 
on  paper  with  pen  and  ink.  Children  should 
not  be  permitted  to  attempt  to  combine  the  ele- 
ments of  letters  into  letters  before  they  are  able 
to  form  the  elements  with  a  reasonable  degree 
of  accuracy  and  regularity. 

Few  schools  are  now  without  a  series  of  copy- 
books projected  upon  one  of  the  numerous  sys- 
tems of  penmanship  that  have  been  constructed 
for  the  education  of  children  in  this  art.  The 
old  custom  of  setting  copies  by  the  teacher  is 
superseded.     The  copy-books   now  in  use  are 


264  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

arranged  on  a  progressive  system,  beginning 
with  the  simplest  elements  and  rising  by  a  grad- 
ual system  of  combinations  up  to  a  regular  prac- 
tice in  forming  words  and  sentences.  The 
teacher  is,  therefore,  required  simply  to  criticise 
intelligently  the  efforts  of  individual  pupils, 
pointing  out  errors  in  such  way  as  will  indicate 
the  difference  between  faulty  and  correct  pen 
manship. 

Lesson  on  the  Blackboard. — Before  the  writing- 
lessons  for  any  term  are  begun,  and  frequently 
during  the  term,  the  following  principles  should 
be  explained  by  the  use  of  the  blackboard :  All 
the  small  letters  found  in  writing  are  compound- 
ed of  three  elementary  principles — the  /,  the  0 
and  the  loop.  The  i  principle  is  employed  in 
forming  i,  u,  w,  r,  /,  n,  m,  v,  x  and  s.  The  0  prin 
ciple  is  employed  in  forming  Oy  c  and  e ;  by  a 
combination  of  the  i  and  0  principles  a  and  d  are 
formed.  The  loop  principle  is  used  in  combina- 
tion with  the  i  or  the  0,  and  enters  into  the  forms 
of  /,  b,  h,  k,  y,  jK,  ^,  gy  q,  /and/. 

This  explanation  of  the  forms  of  letters  indi- 
cates a  proper  arrangement  of  progressive  les- 
sons. 

The  first  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  the  i 
principle  in  its  variations  and  combinations  with 
itself. 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  265' 

The  second  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  the  o 
principle  and  its  modifications. 

The  third  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  the 
combinations  of  the  i  and  o  principles  with  each 
other. 

The  fourth  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  the 
loop  principle  above  the  line,  below  the  line,  and 
a  combination  of  these  positions. 

The  fifth  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  the 
combination  of  the  loop  with  the  ii 

The  sixth  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  the 
combination  of  the  loop  with  the  o. 

The  exercises  in  these  lessons  will  be  in  letter- 
forming;  the  letters  are  next  to  be  combined  in 
words.  The  first  series  of  copies  should  consist 
of  words  requiring  the  use  of  only  the  i  and  o 
principles.  After  pupils  have  acquired  reason- 
able skill  in  writing  such  words,  copies  of  words 
requiring  the  loop  principle  may  be  given. 

Capital  letters  should  be  taken  up  after  pupils 
are  able  to  write  words  distinctly  in  small  letters. 
Capital  letters  are  also  constructed  of  three  ele- 
ments: the  chirographic  curve,  or  line  of  beauty; 
the  stem,  or  7"  principle,  and  the  O,  The  curve 
enters  into  the  forms  of  A,  N,  W,  P,  B,  R,  S, 
Ly  /,  y.  The  T  enters  into  the  forms  of  T  -^S 
Zy  H  and  K,     The  O  enters  into  the  forms  of 

Oy        Cy       By         Gy       Dy        Qy         Vy  Wy       X     2SiA       Y,  ThiS       CkS- 

sification  suggests  three  series  of  lessons. in  the 

23 


266  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

elements  and  their  uses.  These  lessons  mast 
be  so  arranged  as  to  introduce  one  new  element 
or  combination  of  elements  at  a  time.  Finally 
will  come  lessons  arranged  progressively,  in 
which  capitals  are  used  with  small  letters  in 
framing  words  and  sentences. 

It  is  especially  important  that  the  teacher 
would  enforce  habits  of  neatness  in  penmanship, 
in  the  care  and  preservation  of  copy-books. 

Three  things  are  to  be  attained  in  lessons  in 
penmanship : — First,  the  ability  to  write  legibly  ; 
secondly,  to  write  rapidly;  thirdly,  to  write 
neatly.  Legibility  is  an  essential  requisite,  for 
what  cannot  be  read  had  better  not  be  written. 
Letters  should  be  formed  regularly,  not  crowded 
together  nor  too  widely  separated,  but  uniformly 
spaced. 

For  practical  purposes  rapidity  is  a  ver}^  de- 
sirable acquisition.  For  all  business  purposes 
this  accomplishment  stands  much  higher  than 
that  of  beauty  in  style  of  execution.  The  abil- 
ity to  write  in  that  regularity  of  form  which  gives 
great  beauty  to  executions  in  penmanship  is 
useful  for  technical,  special  and  professional  pur- 
poses. In  business  affairs,  however,  a  general 
neatness  in  the  appearance  of  the  written  page 
is  what  is  required.  This  will  be  attained  only 
by  forming  letters  regular  in  size  and  uniform 
in  style,  keeping  the  page  clean,  writing  every 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  267 

word  legibly,  spacing  all  words  regularly  and 
preserving  a  harmony  in  the  shading  of  letters, 
so  that  one  part  of  the  page  shall  not  appear 
black  with  ink  and  another  part  faint  and  indis- 
tinct. Whilst  this  sort  of  neatness  must  be  in- 
sisted upon,  the  teacher  must  avoid  the  extreme 
of  sacrificing  rapidity  of  writing  to  the  demand 
for  skill  in  extreme  beauty  of  execution.  Ra- 
pidity is  of  more  use  to  the  mass  of  writers  than 
the  ability  to  write  beautifully. 

Freedom  in  the  use  of  the  pen  is  attained  by 
frequent  practice  in  forming  large  letters  requir- 
ing the  movement  of  the  whole  arm.  Exercises 
of  this  kind  are  provided  in  the  copy-books  of 
all  the  systems  of  penmanship  now  in  use. 
Wherever  the  teacher  discovers  a  want  of  free- 
dom of  motion  in  the  execution  of  any  pupil,  he 
may  correct  this  by  requiring  such  pupil  to  re- 
turn to  the  practice  of  these  general  arm-and- 
finger  movements. 

DRAWING. 

In  point  of  time  drawing  precedes  penman- 
ship. By  the  use  of  the  slate  and  pencil  small 
children  are  taught  to  draw  from  copies  on 
charts  or  on  the  blackboard,  to  form  at  first  the 
simplest  letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  to  rise  grad- 
ually to  the  execution  of  the  most  complex. 
They  learn  to  sketch  pictures  of  animals,  plants. 


268  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

articles  of  furniture,  diagrams,  trees,  flowers, 
maps  and  the  parts  of  machinery.  These  les- 
sons may  be  continued  after  the  children  have 
passed  from  this  simple  use  of  the  slate  and 
pencil  to  the  study  of  mathematics  and  the  sci- 
ences. In  the  study  of  geography,  the  recom- 
mendation has  already  been  made,  that  map- 
drawing  should  be  regularly  practiced.  In  the 
study  of  mathematics,  diagrams  are  frequently 
drawn. 

Teachers  should  be  prepared  to  instruct  all 
pupils  in  public  schools  in  elementary  rules  and 
principles  of  drawing.  A  knowledge  of  these 
principles,  and  skill  in  the  art  of  using  them, 
will  prove  to  be  valuable  attainments  in  many 
positions  in  life.  Mechanics  constantly  employ 
this  art  in  their  business ;  carpenters,  engineers, 
architects  and  machinists  are  draughtsmen,  or 
must  employ  draughtsmen ;  physicians,  miners, 
farmers,  and  even  lawyers  and  clergymen,  will 
very  often  find  it  useful  to  be  able  to  convey  by 
sketches  and  drawings,  what  it  might  be  very 
difficult  to  make  plain  by  verbal  explanations. 

All  drawings  consist  of  straight  lines.  It  is, 
therefore,  necessary  to  acquire,  first,  skill  in  draw- 
ing such  lines. 

The  first  series  of  lessons  should  be  on  straight 
lines.  First,  simply  a  straight  line ;  then  a  com- 
bination of  two  straight  lines  in  various  forms, 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  269 

as  meeting  at  right  angles,  meeting  at  acute  an- 
gles, meeting  so  as  to  form  one  angle,  meeting 
so  as  to  form  two  angles,  crossing  each  other  so 
as  to  form  four  right  angles,  crossing  so  as  to 
form  acute  and  obtuse  angles.  Another  les- 
son may  be  given  on  combinations  of  three 
straight  lines,  another  on  combinations  of  four 
straight  lines  in  various  forms.  These  lessons 
may  be  extended  as  the  age  and  skill  of  the 
pupils  shall  require  more  complex  exercises. 

A  second  series  of  lessons  should  be  given  on 
curve  lines,  as  semi-circles  or  smaller  arcs  of 
circles,  on  forming  complete  circles,  forming 
ovals,  also  combinations  of  curve  lines,  drawing 
curve  lines  parallel  to  each  other  and  crossing 
each  other  in  every  conceivable  form. 

A  third  series  of  lessons  may  be  given  in  com- 
binations of  straight  and  curve  lines.  After 
this,  pictures  of  real  objects  should  be  given  to 
be  copied,  with  instructions  how  to  proceed. 
The  objects  at  first  should  be  simple,  as  doors, 
gates,  boxes,  ladders,  benches,  chairs,  houses, 
and  the  like ;  gradually  more  complicated  les- 
sons may  be  given,  such  as  drawing  pictures  of 
animals,  plants  and  machines,  and  finally  lessons 
on  drawing  pictures  of  the  objects  themselves. 

Lessons  on  drawing,  arranged  progressively, 
have  been  published  for  the  use  of  schools,  and 
these  are  usually  accompanied  by  a  series  of 

23  « 


270  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

models.  The  picture  is  found  in  the  book, 
which  the  pupil  may  copy,  and  after  such  exer- 
cises shall  have  continued  for  a  sufficient  length 
of  time,  the  pictures  are  removed  and  the  ob- 
jects themselves  presented.  Pupils  are  re- 
quired to  make  pictures  of  these  objects.  This 
is  a  valuable  exercise,  and  is  what  is  required 
in  actual  business.  In  the  application  of  the  art 
of  drawing,  the  object  is  represented  either  in 
reality  or  in  the  perceptions,  and  a  picture  of  it 
is  to  be  produced  on  paper  or  tablet.  Where 
such  regularly-prepared  lessons  are  not  pro- 
vided, the  teacher  may  improvise  lessons  and 
present  a  number  of  suitable  objects,  of  which 
pictures  can  be  made  by  the  pupils  on  slate  or 
paper. 

This  is  one  of  the  branches  of  learning  that 
may  become  so  fascinating  to  teacher  and  pupil 
as  to  encroach  upon  the  time  that  would  be 
more  profitably  expended  in  the  acquisition  of 
other  and  more  useful  knowledge.  Only  the 
elementary  principles  should  be  taught  in  the 
public  schools,  and  sufficient  practice  given  to 
attain  a  reasonable  facility  in  sketching  simple 
objects.  This  will  be  sufficient  for  ordinary 
unprofessional  uses.  Persons,  who  enter  voca- 
tions wherein  this  art  is  to  be  very  generally 
employed,  will  find  it  necessary  to  study  it  be- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  27 1 

yond  the  limits  of  what  is  practicable  in  the 
public  schools. 

MUSIC. 

Vocal  music  has  become  one  of  the  essential 
public-school  branches.  Music  in  all  schools  is 
necessary  for  purposes  of  recreation,  for  pur- 
poses of  discipline,  for  purposes  of  culture.  It 
is  more  useful  as  an  exercise  than  as  a  study, 
but  in  order  to  enable  pupils  to  engage  in  the 
delightful  exercise  of  singing,  some  system  of 
instruction  whereby  they  will  acquire  the  ability 
to  read  music  at  sight  must  be  adopted. 

It  is  not  more  difficult  to  teach  pupils  to  un- 
derstand musical  notation  than  it  is  to  teach 
them  to  understand  arithmetical  notation.  The 
terms  employed  in  music  are  similar  to  those 
employed  in  reading.  Every  musical  sound  has 
pitch,  length  and  force.  The  pitch  of  a  musical 
sound  is  indicated  by  its  position  on  the  musical 
staff;  the  lower  sounds  are  placed  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  staff,  and  the  higher  sounds  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  staff.    Let  a  teacher  draw  five 

parallel  lines  on  the  blackboard,  thus 


These  lines  and  spaces  represent  pitch  in  or- 
dinary musical  composition.  A  character  called 
a  note  is  employed  to  represent  each  sound ; 
the  position  of  the  note  on  the  staff  indicates  it? 


2/2  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

pitch.  Let  the  teacher  write  notes  on  different 
parts  of  the  staff,  beginning  below  and  rising 
from  the  lower  line  to  the  upper  line.  Then  let 
him  sound  with  his  voice  the  pitch  of  the  tone 
'indicated  by  one  of  these  notes  ;  then  the  pitch 
indicated  by  another,  and  thus  ascend  and  de- 
scend the  scale  slowly,  giving  the  same  time 
and  force  to  each  note,  varying  it  only  in  pitch. 
Pupils  will  readily  understand  the  difference  be- 
tween high  notes  and  low  notes,  and  easily  exe- 
cute the  distinction  in  vocal  efforts. 

The  teacher  may  explain  that  the  lines  and 
intervening  spaces  in  the  diagram  on  the  board 
are  designated  by  certain  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
numberinof  from  A  to  G.  These  letters  should 
be  written  upon  the  diagram  on  the  blackboard 
in  their  proper  positions  as  -found  in  musical 
composition. 

If  the  teacher  will  call  the  attention  of  the 
pupils  to  the  fact  that  the  letters  occupying  the 
spaces  in  this  diagram  spell  the  word  face,  he 
will  enable  them  to  fix  the  position  of  the 
letters  on  the  staff  correctly  and  durably  on 
their  minds.  The  four  fingers  and  the  thumb 
of  the  hand  may  be  cited  as  an  illustration 
of  the  musical  staff;  beginning  with  the  little 
finger  and  the  one  next  to  it,  placing  "F"  in 
that  space,  "A"  in  the  second  space,  "  C  "  in  the 
third  space,  and  "  E  "  in  the  fourth  space.     The 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  2/3 

letters  on  the  lines  are  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet which,  when  written  in  their  natural  order, 
come  between  those  which  are  found  in  the 
spaces.  Thus,  in  the  alphabet  after  f  comes  g, 
after  a  is  b,  after  ^  is  ^  and  afters  is^  which  is 
found  on  the  upper  line  as  well  as  in  the  lower 
space  of  the  staff.  What  is  of  more  importance, 
however,  to  the  pupil,  and  of  more  practical  use 
in  school,  is  a  knowledge  of  the  musical  scale, 
running  from  the  keynote  below  through  the 
scale  of  the  octave  to  the  keynote  above.  It 
will  be  found  advantageous  to  designate  the 
tones  in  the  scale  by  numerals,  beginning  at  the 
keynote  and  calling  it  i,  and  writing  the  figures 
in  regular  order,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  and  indicating 
the  keynote  at  the  top  of  the  scale  by  the  figure 
8.  Write  on  the  natural  scale  on  the  black- 
board an  octave  of  notes,  from  C  on  the  ledger 
line  below  to  C  in  the  third  space ;  write  on  the 
left-hand  side  of  these  notes  the  numerals  from 
I  to  8  ;  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  notes, 
write  the  names  usually  given  to  them  in  the 
scale ;  thus : 


-3-E-Mi 


-yjr^^5-O-S0l 


-wktP^^^^^^- 


From  this  diagram  the  pupils  may  learn  that, 
whilst  absolute  pitch  is  indicated  by  position  on 
the  musical   staff,   relative   pitch — that  is,  how 


s 


274  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

much  higher  or  how  much  lower  one  note  Is 
than  another  of  a  known  pitch — may  be  repre- 
sented by  numerals  and  by  syllables.  By  thor- 
oughly enforcing  this  idea  of  representing  rela- 
tive pitch  by  numerals,  the  teacher  will  make  it 
possible  for  his  school  to  read  music  rapidly  that 
is  written  upon  the  blackboard  in.  numerals. 

Length  of  Sounds. — The  length  of  sounds  is 
indicated  by  the  form  of  note.  By  reference  to 
any  piece  of  musical  composition,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  notes  on  the  staff  vary  in  form ;  by  sing- 
ing the  piece  the  teacher  may  illustrate  the  mean- 
ing of  these  differences  of  form.  Pupils  must 
be  taught  to  distinguish  between  whole  notes, 
half  notes,  quarter  notes,  eighth  notes  and  six- 
teenth notes ;  this  can  be  accomplished  best  by 
the  use  of  the  blackboard.  The  principles  of 
measure  and  time,  employed  in  writing  and  exe- 
cuting compositions  in  music,  can  also  be  fully 
demonstrated  by  the  use  of  blackboard  diagrams 
and  the  voice. 

The  transposition  of  the  scale  by  the  use  of 
sharps  and  flats  can  be  explained  so  as  to  be 
comprehended  by  pupils  at  the  age  of  ten  years. 

For  school-room  uses  it  is  not  necessary  to 
understand  the  transposition  of  scales.  Explain 
the  meaning  of  the  term  "keynote;"  it  is  i,  or 
"do,"  in  the  major  scale.  If,  therefore,  pupils 
are  able  to  find  the  keynote  of  the  scale  of  a 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  275 

piece  of  music,  they  can  without  difficulty  read 
the  notes  in  the  piece,  giving  to  each  tone  its 
proper  pitch  and  length.  The  teacher  may, 
therefore,  state  without  explantion  that,  when 
one  sharp  is  found  on  the  staff  at  the  beginning 
of  a  piece  of  music,  the  keynote  is  on  g ;  when 
two  sharps  are  placed  there,  the  keynote  is  on 
d ;  when  three  sharps  are  used,  the  keynote  is 
on  a,  and  when  four  sharps  are  used,  the  key- 
note is  on  e.  One  sharp,  g ;  two  sharps,  d ; 
three  sharps,  a  ;  four  sharps,  e :  "  God  Deluged 
All  Earth."  Here  are  four  words  thf  first  let- 
ters of  which  indicate  the  keynotes  in  sharps. 
The  use  of  flats  gives  keynotes  as  follows :  one 
flat,/"/  two  flats,  b ;  three  flats,  e ;  four  flats,  a: 
"  Father  Baker  Eats  Apples."  These  four 
words  in  their  initial  letters  indicate  the  key- 
notes in  flats. 

An  extract,  or  complete  piece  of  music,  should 
be  written  on  the  blackboard.  Suppose  it  is 
part  or  the  whole  of  the  familiar  church  tune, 
"Old  Hundred." 


g 


gF-2-^  X'^      rJ  I  J      J 


22: 


5t 


The  teacher  proceeds  to  explain :  First,  that 
the  cleff  indicates  the  position  of  the  letters  en  the 
staff;  secondly,  that  the  presence  of  one  sharp 
indicates  the  keynote  is  on  g;   third,  that  the 


2*]^  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

figures  indicate  double  measure,  two  half  notes 
In  each  measure.  After  these  facts  have  been 
explained,  question  the  class  as  follows  :  In  what 
key  is  this  piece  of  music  written  ?  What  is  the 
name  of  the  first  note  ?  The  name  of  the  second 
note?  Of  the  third?  The  fourth?  Fifth?  Sixth? 
Seventh  ?  Eighth  ?  The  answers  may  be  given 
in  concert,  individually,  or  both.  In  what  kind 
of  notes  is  this  piece  written?  Are  the  tones 
represented  all  of  the  same  length?  Why? 
The  class  should  repeat  the  notes  by  name  until 
all  the  members  can  do  it  rapidly.  The  teacher 
may  then  sound  the  keynote,  do,  and  require 
the  class  to  sound  it  with  him.  Sound  it  several 
times;  then  sing,  in  slow,  regular  time,  all  the 
notes  on  the  staff,  thus :  Do-do-si-la-sol-do-re- 
mi.  The  correct  pitch  of  each  note  must  be 
given  in  the  tone  of  every  pupil.  This  lesson 
should  be  practiced  by  the  whole  school  until 
every  pupil  can  sing  it  correctly  by  naming  the 
syllables.  It  should  then  be  sung  in  the  syllable 
la,  thus:  la-la-la-la-la-la-la- la.  Words  of  a  hymn 
may  now  be  applied  to  these  tones.  The  whole 
school  may  sing  in  full,  harmonious  voice,  "  Be 
thou,  O  God,  exalted  high."  The  teacher  may 
now  complete  the  tune  and  exercise  the  school 
in  singing  it. 

The  pitch  of  the  several  tones  in  this  tune 
have  thus  far  been  represented  by  position  on 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  277 

the  Staff;  they  may  be  represented  by  numerals. 
The  keynote  is  i  of  the  scale,  and  other  numer- 
als up  to  8  are  used  to  indicate  the  position  of 
notes  in  the  scale.  The  tune  may,  therefore,  be 
written  as  follows:  i  |  i  7  |  6  5  |  i  2  |  3.  In  the 
tune  "Old  Hundred"  the  notes  are  all  of  the 
same  length,  but  if  notes  of  different  lengths  are 
found  in  a  tune,  a  teacher  can,  by  dots  and 
points  over  the  numerals,  indicate  the  length  of 
sounds.  Every  tune  is  written  on  the  basis  of 
some  note,  as  whole,  half,  quarter.  Some  one 
length  of  note  is,  therefore,  of  more  frequent 
occurrence ;  using  that  note  as  a  standard  of 
length,  only  those  that  are  longer  or  shorter  need 
be  marked.  The  vertical  lines  drawn  at  inter- 
vals between  the  numerals  also  aid  in  determin- 
ing at  sight  the  time  to  be  given  to  notes  between 
them.  The  active  powers  of  perception  and 
imitation  will  enable  pupils  to  catch  a  tune,  as  it 
were,  intuitively.  If  a  tune  is  written  in  numer- 
als, and  the  teacher  sings  a  short  division  of  it, 
requiring  pupils  to  repeat  it  several  times,  then 
another  and  another,  until  all  the  parts  of  the 
tune  have  been  sung,  the  whole  school  will  take 
up  the  piece  and  sing  it  through  by  note,  by  the 
syllable  la,  and  afterward  in  appropriate  verse. 
Words  of  tunes  may  be  repeated  by  the  teacher 
so  slowly  that  the  pupils  can  write  them  on  paper, 
to  be  preserved  for  use. 

24 


278  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

Every  school  should  be  provided  with  music- 
books  containing  suitable  tunes ;  frequently, 
however,  this  will  not  be  the  case,  and  when 
books  are  present  other  tunes  may  be  added  to 
the  supply  by  the  free  use  of  the  numeral  system 
of  notation.  As  pupils  advance  the  general 
principles  of  rhythm,  melody  and  dynamics  may 
be  explained  and  illustrated  in  singing.  What 
is  chiefly  wanted,  however,  is  exercise  in  sing- 
ing, the  instruction  necessary  to  enable  pupils 
to  read  music  may  be  given  in  such  simple  and 
easy  lessons  as  not  to  mar  the  pleasure  of  sing- 
ing, and  to  an  extent  that  will  suffice  for  all 
practical  uses  in  school,  at  home  and  in  church. 

In  giving  music  lessons  a  teacher  must  be 
vivacious,  cheerful  and  of  good  heart.  The 
soul  of  music  must  find  lodgment  in  his  soul ; 
his  countenance  must  say  to  the  school  so  un- 
mistakably as  to  require  no  interpreter,  "  It  is 
good  to  sing."  "  As  in  water  face  answereth 
to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man."  The  lit- 
tle hearts  and  the  larger  hearts  will  join  in  the 
cheerful  exercise  of  singing  if  pleasantly  invited 
and  cheerfully  led. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION— Continued. 

HISTORY. 

|ISTORY  may  be  studied  by  first  taking 
a  comprehensive  and  general  view 
of  the  historic  field,  and  proceeding 
thence  to  the  study  of  special  or  local 
history,  or  beginning  with  local  history,  by  study- 
ing fragments,  and  rising  through  the  history  of 
governments,  nations  and  periods  to  general 
history.  Either  method  may  be  adopted.  For 
advanced  pupils  and  for  adult  readers  the  first 
named  is  the  natural  course.  Children  may  be 
interested  in  fragments  of  history,  in  biographies 
of  distinguished  men,  in  stories  and  incidents  of 
localities,  at  an  age  when  general  history  would 
not  be  relished  and  could  not  be  comprehended. 
By  whatever  method  history  is  studied,  it  is 
important  that,  at  some  period  in  the  study  of 
fragments,  the  epochs,  the  periods,  the  history  of 
nations,  governments  and  people,  by  some  sys- 
tem of  general  and  comprehensive  classification, 

279 


28o  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

be  so  arranged  and  bound  together  as  to  enable 
pupils  to  remember  the  relative  order  of  historic 
events,  such  as  the  founding,  the  progress  and 
the  fall  of  nations  and  governments,  without  the 
necessity  of  recollecting  arbitrary  dates. 

Facts  in  history  are  not  governed  by  recog- 
nized laws  that  bring  them  under  a  classification 
that  determines  their  place  in  the  progress  of 
events.  They  are  not  susceptible  of  the  close 
and  systematic  classification  that  is  attainable  in 
the  material  sciences ;  they  may,  nevertheless, 
be  so  connected  in  great  cycles  as  to  aid  the 
student  in  determining,  instantly,  at  what  particu- 
lar epoch  or  period  the  history  of  any  particular 
nation  or  people  or  events  belongs.  Whether, 
therefore,  the  pupils  have  prosecuted  the  study 
of  history  by  the  first  or  second  method  above 
indicated,  a  general  survey  must  be  made  for 
the  purpose  of  classifying  and  combining  historic 
events  in  the  order  of  their  occurrence. 

If  it  is  proposed  to  study  history  by  the  first 
method,  then  the  general  survey  should  be  in- 
troduced at  the  beginning.  If  history  has  been 
or  is  to  be  studied  by  the  second  method,  the 
general  view  should  not  be  presented  until  a 
sufficient  number  of  fragments  are  possessed  by 
the  student  to  make  classification  desirable. 

The  beginnings  of  few  nations  are  known  to 
history.    Until  nations  have  assumed  some  form 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION.  28 1 

peculiar  to  themselves,  and  have  asserted  some 
individuality  distinguishing  them  from  neighbor- 
ing nations,  they  do  not  enter  the  horizon  of 
history.  Before  they  have  reached  that  period 
centuries  may  have  passed,  of  the  events  of 
which  no  records  are  preserved. 

The  prehistoric  period  is  the  age  of  fable ; 
obscurity  and  darkness  reign  over  the  mutations 
of  men  and  their  transactions.  The  science  of 
language  has  recently  passed  the  boundary  of 
this  unexplored  region,  and  has  penetrated  the 
hitherto  impenetrable  darkness  of  the  ages  of 
unrecorded  changes.  It  has  discovered  many 
ancient  landmarks,  erected  by  migrating  nations 
and  peoples  and  languages,  and  from  these 
monuments  of  the  unknown  past,  philology  has 
suspended  ever-burning  lamps  to  guide  students 
of  history  to  the  fountains  of  historic  events,  the 
cradle  of  races  of  men,  the  beginnings  of  civiliza- 
tion, whence  issued  the  streams  that  flowed  out 
to  all  parts  of  the  earth. 

The  developments  of  the  science  of  language 
has  resulted  in  the  discovery  that  there  was  a 
great  prehistoric  cycle  of  civilization,  whose  cen- 
tre and  beginnings  were  in  Upper  Asia.  A  peo- 
ple and  language,  the  parent  of  all  nations  and 
of  all  tongues  in  times  immemorial,  dwelt  in  this 
region  and  became  the  ancestors  of  Indians, 
Persians,  Celts,  Germans,  Slavons,  Italians  and 

24* 


282  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

Greeks.  Out  from  this  centre  of  population 
flowed  successive  waves  of  migration.  Guided 
by  the  lamps  of  philology,  which  thus  light  up 
numerous  stations  on  the  highways  of  nations, 
we  are  able  to  pass  far  beyond  the  true  historic 
period  and  arrive  at  what  seems  to  have  been 
the  cradle  of  all  nations.  Tracing  the  lines  of 
migrations  backward,  it  is  found  that  these  all 
point  to  the  table-lands  of  Armenia  in  Asia,  as 
the  place  of  genesis,  whence  issued  the  families 
of  all  nations. 

The  first  great  body  that  emigrated  from  Ar- 
menia into  Europe  was  the  Celts,  who  passed 
over  the  northern  parts  of  Europe ;  this  wave 
was  followed  by  the  Teutonic  or  German  emi- 
gration. The  Germans  pushed  the  Celts  for- 
ward to  the  extreme  western  bounds  of  the 
continent.  Following  the  Teutonic  came  the 
Slavonic  wave  of  migration,  which  in  turn  pushed 
the  Germans  westward  and  southward,  and 
made  the  whole  of  Northern  Europe  the  home 
of  the  Slavons.  The  Celts  were  pushed  out- 
into  the  islands  on  the  western  coast  of  Europe, 
and  the  Germans  settled  in  the  central  and 
western  parts  of  the  continent.  These  three 
peoples  together  are  the  immediate  ancestors 
of  the  nations  and  languages  of  Northern  Eu- 
rope. 

The  second  succession  of  waves  of  migration 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

METHODS  d'^^^:f^^\^gTW^  283 

spread  o\rer  Southern  Europe.  First  came  the 
Pelasgi,and  secondly  the  Greeks.  The  first  of 
these,  the  ancestors  of  all  the  Italian  races,  were 
pushed  forward  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and 
spread  over  the  southern  part  of  Europe,  on 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The 
second  wave  settled  in  South-eastern  Europe 
and  its  people  were  the  fathers  of  the  Greeks. 
The  migrations  into  other  parts  of  Asia  and 
Africa  from  Armenia  are  not  so  distinctly 
marked.  The  population  seems  to  have  spread 
out  in  great  circles,  widening  its  territory,  rather 
than  projecting  distinct  currents. 

The  languages  of  the  East  are  of  one  family, 
of  which  the  Hebrew  may  be  taken  as  a  type. 
The  languages  of  the  West  wfere  more  diversi- 
fied. The  Celtic  became  the  foundation  of  the 
English,  the  Teutonic  of  the  German,  the  Sla- 
vonic of  the  language  of  the  Russians.  In  the 
South,  Latin  and  its  offshoots  and  the  Greek 
were  the  typical  languages. 

In  receiving  its  population,  therefore,  Asia  and 
Northern  Europe  were  in  advance  of  Southern 
Europe,  but  in  the  development  of  civilization 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  and  sciences. 
Eastern  and  Southern  Europe  were  in  advance 
of  their  older  neighbors. 

The'  history  of  a  nation  begins  at  that  epoch 
in  its  existence  in  which  civilization  develops  an 


284  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

individuality,  that  asserts  itself  as  a  unity.  His- 
tory, therefore,  treats  of  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion from  country  to  country,  and  from  people 
to  people,  rather  than  of  the  dissemination  of 
population  over  the  earth.  Civilization  first  came 
into  historic  recognition  on  the  southern  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  it  passed  around  the 
east  end  of  the  Mediterranean  and  along  the 
northern  shore  until  it  reached  the  Atlantic. 
This  completed  the  first  great  historic  cycle — 
the  cycle  of  the  Mediterranean  civilization. 

This  historic  unity  is  sometimes  called  "An- 
cient History,"  or  the  "  History  of  the  Ancient 
World."  It  is  the  history  of  civilization  among 
the  Mediterranean  nations — the  history  of  the 
Egyptians  dwelling  on  the  southern  shore,  the 
history  of  the  Syrians  on  the  east  coast  and 
stretching  inland  to  the  Euphrates,  and  the  his- 
tory of  the  twin  nations,  the  Greeks  and  the 
Italians.  The  successive  centres  of  the  civili- 
zation of  this  cycle  were  at  Thebes,  Carthage, 
Athens  and  Rome.  The  nations  represented 
by  these  culminating  points,  and  embraced  in 
the  Mediterranean  cycle,  were  the  first  to  attain 
a  noble  civilization,  and  to  elaborate  and  de- 
velop the  distinguishing  qualities  of  human  na- 
ture, which  have  since  their  first  evolvement 
characterized  all  civilized  peoples. 

After  the  lapse  of  centuries  new  peoples  in 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  285 

the  North  loomed  into  the  horizon  of  history, 
overran  the  nations  of  the  south  and  transferred 
the  centre  of  civiHzation  from  the  Mediterranean 
to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  A  new  epoch  in  the 
mutations  of  nations  is  reached  ;  out  of  the  per- 
ished and  the  perishing  civilization  of  the  Medi- 
terranean nations  buds  a  new  era.  A  new 
cycle  of  culture  is  formed,  and  the  Atlantic  na- 
tions become  its  theatre  of  influence.  This  new 
cycle  is  usually  entitled  "  Modern  History."  In 
it,  civilization  was  developed  in  the  Atlantic 
nations,  or  those  nations  settled  north  of  the 
Mediterranean  zone,  and  who  found  their  out- 
lets on  the  Atlantic ;  passing  northward  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  ocean,  it  reached  all  the 
peoples  on  the  mainland  and  on  the  islands  off 
the  coast.  At  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century 
of  the  Christian  era,  civilization  was  carried 
across  the  Atlantic,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  fully 
one  hundred  years,  made  lodgment  on  the  west- 
ern coast  of  that  ocean. 

All  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe  vied  with 
each  other  in  efforts  to  settle  and  civilize  Amer- 
ica. Two  centuries  of  earnest  and  intelligent 
labor  have  been  given  to  this  work.  From  the 
seacoast  civilization  spread  inward  until  the 
whole  continent  was  explored,  and  states,  prov- 
inces and  governments  were  established  where, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  sav- 


286  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

age  tribes  of  men  roamed  through  an  unbroken 
wilderness.  This  overspreading  of  Western  and 
Northern  Europe  and  of  America,  bringing  the 
nations  dwelHng  there  under  the  influence  of 
civilization,  constitutes  the  Atlantic  cycle  in  his- 
tory. The  Pacific  cycle  has  already  begun. 
Historic  civilization  has  established  itself  on  the 
American  shore  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  is 
making  rapid  inroads  upon  the  ancient  exclu- 
siveness  of  the  nations  residing  in  Eastern  Asia. 
When  the  arts  and  sciences,  known  to  civilized 
nations,  shall  have  found  a  welcome  in  the  isl- 
ands of  the  Pacific,  in  the  nations  of  Southern 
and  Eastern  Africa,  in  India,  China  and  Japan, 
the  Pacific  cycle  will  be  complete. 

All  historic  epochs  and  periods  are  embraced 
in  these  three  great  cycles,  the  Mediterranean, 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary, therefore,  for  students  of  history  to  carry 
in  their  minds  the  date  at  which  civilization  be- 
gan on  the  Mediterranean,  the  date  at  which  it 
was  transferred  to  the  Atlantic  and  the  date  at 
which  it  reached  the  Pacific,  and  the  course  it 
took  in  its  progress  on  the  shores  of  these  great 
waters,  in  order  to  determine,  generally,  at  what 
time  any  nation,  or  the  people  embraced  within 
the  geographical  limits  thus  described,  became  a 
civilized  and  an  historic  people. 

Three  comprehensive  charts,  constructed  on 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  287 

this  principle,  may  be  so  arranged  as  to  indicate 
the  path  of  civilization  in  its  course  among  na- 
tions, in  passing  through  these  cycles,  and  note 
the  dates  of  marked  periods  and  epochs.  Such 
charts  could  be  used  as  the  bases  of  a  series  of 
lessons  in  history,  so  as  to  determine  at  once  a 
classification  that  would  be  an  invaluable  aid  to 
the  student,  placing  before  him  connectedly  a  sy- 
nopsis of  the  history  of  the  several  nations  that 
belong  to  each  cycle.  With  this  clear  compre- 
hension of  a  general  survey  of  the  historic  field, 
pupils  will  have  little  difficulty  in  determining, 
both  chronologically  and  geographically,  the 
places  of  nations  and  peoples  within  the  sphere 
of*  civilization. 

With  such  an  outline  of  history  before  them, 
pupils  may  read  or  study  the  history  of  nations 
in  any  part  of  the  world ;  they  may  study  frag- 
ments of  history,  as  biographies  of  public  men, 
histories  of  wars,  histories  of  dynasties,  histories 
of  states,  with  a  reasonable  certainty  that  they 
will  associate  them  with  the  histories  of  other 
nations,  dynasties,  wars,  men  and  events  of  the 
historic  cycle  to  which  they  belong. 

The  study  of  history  when  recited  by  ques- 
tions and  answers  is  a  very  dull  and  unprofitable 
exercise.  It  is  far  better  to  use  some  popular 
history  of  a  nation,  or  a  state,  or  a  people  as  a 
reader  for  advanced  classes.     A  teacher,  by  com- 


288  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

ments  and  questions  in  a  reading-lesson  in  his- 
tory, may  fix  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils  all  im- 
portant events,  and  associate  them  with  other 
events  that  will  give  them  a  proper  place  in 
general  history. 

History,  however,  should  be  classed  as  a  reg- 
ular branch  of  learning  to  be  studied  in  every 
school,  studied  in  fragments,  studied  in  epochs, 
studied  in  cycles.  Pupils  should  be  required  to 
state  the  important  events  connected  with  peri- 
ods, epochs  and  cycles.  If  fragments  of  history 
are  to  be  taken  up,  they  are  always  susceptible 
of  methodical  division  and  subdivision.  In  the 
recitation  of  these  fragments,  pupils  should  be  re- 
quired to  state,  in  their  own  language,  the  lead- 
ing events,  their  connection  with  other  events 
and  their  effect  upon  the  people  in  the  midst  of 
whom  they  transpired,  as  far  as  consistent  with 
the  scope  of  the  lesson  and  the  capacity  of  the 
learner. 

The  objection  to  the  use  of  historic  charts  in 
schools  is,  that  they  contain  so  much  that  is 
minute  and  immaterial,  and  that  cannot  properly 
be  taught  from  charts,  that  tKey  are  more  likely 
to  produce  confusion  than  to  lead  to  systematic 
classification.  If  charts  projected  on  some  such 
general  plan  as  has  been  here  suggested  are  not 
published,  teachers  may  construct  on  a  black- 
board, or  on  large  sheets  of  paper,  or  on  skele- 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION,  289 

ton  maps,  cyclical  charts  that  will  embrace  the 
nations,  governments  and  dates  of  important 
events  belonging  to  each  cycle.  One  such  chart 
should  comprise  the  Mediterranean  nations,  an- 
other, the  Atlantic,  and  a  third,  the  Pacific  To 
these  charts  every  fragment  of  history  may  be 
referred,  its  time  and  place  indicated,  so  as  to 
give  the  pupil  a  more  perfect  classification  and 
system  of  combination  of  historic  facts,  than  it  is 
possible  to  obtain  by  any  other  system. 

These  points,  then,  are  important:  First: 
Every  school  should  receive  from  its  teacher  a 
general  statement  of  the  events  embraced  in 
each  of  the  three  historic  cycles. 

Secondly:  History  should  be  studied  in  all 
schools,  and  the  recitations  therein  should  be 
conducted  in  such  manner  as  to  cultivate  habits 
of  relating  briefly  and  correctly  the  facts  enter- 
ing into  the  events,  periods  and  epochs  under 
consideration,  and  to  associate  them  with  other 
epochs,  periods  and  events  of  the  same  historic 
cycle. 

Third:  If,  by  reason  of  any  circumstance,  his- 
tory cannot  be  taken  up  as  a  regular  study  in 
any  school,  it  should  be  introduced  as  reading- 
lessons  for  the  advanced  pupils,  and  into  these 
reading-lessons,  the  teacher  should  infuse  as 
much  teaching  of  history  as  time,  and  capacity 
of  the  pupils  will  permit. 

26  T 


290  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

This  method  presupposes  teachers  to  be  rea- 
sonably well  read  in  historic  literature.  It  will 
be  impossible  to  make  the  study  of  history 
in  a  school  interesting,  if  the  whole  stock  pos- 
sessed by  the  teacher  is  only  so  much  as  he  is 
able  to  extract  from  the  foot-note  questions  in 
school  text-books.  There  is  no  branch  of  pub- 
lic-school learning  so  susceptible  of  varied  and 
interesting  illustration,  by  the  introduction  of 
collateral  and  explanatory  incidents,  as  the  sub- 
ject of  history.  A  teacher  should  ever  be  on 
the  alert  to  arouse  the  interest  of  his  pupils  by 
frequently  surprising  them  with  agreeable  illus- 
trations, not  found  in  the  text-book  lessons.  It 
will  thus  be  of  small  consequence  what  particu- 
lar history  a  class  is  studying  in  school.  The 
intelligent,  active  teacher,  making  it  merely  a 
text-book  of  suggestions,  will  draw  to  it  from 
all  sides  the  history  of  the  whole  world,  so  that 
when  a  pupil  shall  have  gone  over,  for  example, 
the  history  of  the  United  States,  he  will  in  re- 
ality have  been  taught  the  history  of  the  world, 
with  that  of  the  United  States  prominently  in 
the  foreground.  If  the  class  is  studying  the  his- 
tory of  a  state — for  example,  the  state  in  which 
the  school  is  located — the  teacher  should  make 
each  recitation  an  occasion,  not  only  to  con- 
sider the  events  which  transpired  within  the 
limits  of  that  state,  but  also  to  exhibit  what  rela- 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION.  29 1 

tions  those  events  sustained  to  contemporary 
events  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  so 
that  when  a  class  shall  have  completed  the  study 
of  the  history  of  one  state,  its  members  will 
have  a  general  view  of  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  with  that  of  the  particular  state  in  the 
foreground. 


CHAPTER   XV. 
FURNITURE    AND    APPARATUS. 

IHE  manufacture  and  arrangement  of 
school  furniture  have  been  reduced  to 
perfect  system.  Desks  for  the  accom- 
modation of  pupils  are  so  modeled  as 
to  be  convenient  and  ornamental.  The  styles 
of  good  furniture  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  ac- 
commodate every  demand  of  service  and  taste. 
The  school  authorities,  whose  duty  it  is  to  fur- 
nish schoolhouses,  should  examine  the  several 
patterns  of  desks  and  select  that  which  is  best 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  their  school;  either 
of  the  numerous  approved  patterns  of  com- 
bined desk  and  seat  will  give  satisfaction.  It  is 
now  so  easy  to  obtain  serviceable  and  elegant 
furniture,  that  school-officers  should  not  be  ex- 
cused for  lumbering  up  their  rooms  with  clumsy, 
uncomfortable  and  inconvenient  desks. 

In  the  arrangement  of  seats  it  is  a  very  gen- 
eral practice  to  place  those  for  the  small  children 

292 


FURNITURE  AND  APPARATUS. 


293 


in  the  front  part  of  the  room  and  Increase  the 
sizes  of  the  desks  toward  the  rear.  A  more 
perfect  system  is  to  place  the  low  desks  for 
small  children  in  the  centre  section  of  the  room, 
from  front  to  rear,  and  the  higher  desks  for  the 
larger  pupils,  in  two  sections,  on  the  sides  of 
the  room. 

The  followinof  table  sef'ves  to  exhibit  the  rel- 
ative  length,  width  and  height  of  desks  conve- 
nient for  all  grades  of  pupils  in  primary,  secon- 
dary and  grammar  schools.  Rooms  for  mixed 
schools  should  be  furnished  with  the  required 
number  of  seats  of  the  several  sizes  to  accom- 
modate all  grades  of  pupils. 

SIZES    OF    SCHOOL    DESKS. 


Second,  \ 
Primary,  J 
Primary,  . 
Secondary, 
Grammar, 


Leng^th  of  Desk 
and  Seat. 

Width  of  Desk 
Top. 

(Single  and 
DouDle  Desks 

the  same.) 

Width  of  Seat. 

(Sinele  and 
Double  Desks 

the  same. J 

Width  from 
Desk  to  Desk. 

(Single  and 
Double  Desks 

the  same.) 

lit'. 

Double 
Desk. 

18  in. 

18  " 
21  " 
24  " 

36  in. 

38  " 
40  •' 
42  •• 

11  inches. 

12  " 
14      " 
16      " 

9  inches. 

10  " 

11  " 

12  " 

23  inches. 
32      " 

Heisjhtof 

Seat. 

(Single  and 

Double  Desks 

the  same.) 

II  inches. 


APPARATUS. 


Apparatus  has  become  an  indispensable  part 
of  school  furniture.  The  principles,  elements 
and  facts  of  almost  every  branch  of  the  common- 
school  curriculum,  may  be  taught  more  success- 
fully by  the  skillful  use  of  numerous  ingenious 

26* 


294  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

contrivances  constructed  for  that  purpose.  The 
uses  of  charts,  cards  and  blackboards  to  teach 
the  alphabet,  spelling  and  reading  have  been 
indicated  in  the  chapter  on  Elocution. 

In  teaching  the  elements  of  arithmetic  the 
arithmetical  frame,  blocks,  charts  and  black- 
boards are  useful ;  in  geography,  maps,  globes 
and  the  mechanical  combinations  of  spheres  are 
valuable  aids  to  both  teacher  and  pupil.  Pen- 
manship has  been  reduced  to  such  precise  sys- 
tems that  charts  and  models  are  used  to  advan- 
tage in  teaching  the  elements  and  composition 
of  letters. 

An  expert  teacher  will  find  frequent  occasion 
to  improve  on  all  the  inventions  of  bookmakers 
and  manufacturers  of  apparatus,  and  the  school 
authorities,  who  fail  to  supply  him  with  ample 
facilities  in  the  way  of  convenient  appliances, 
simply  defraud  the  children  of  the  advantages 
of  the  highest  professional  skill.  Dull,  book- 
bound  teachers  do  not  require  apparatus — spir- 
ited, zealous,  ingenious  teachers  do ;  and  their 
spirit,  zeal  and  genius  appear  to  best  advan- 
tage when  supplemented  by  all  proper  conve- 
niences for  the  full  and  free  exercise  of  their 
power  in  forcing  the  knowledge  they  possess 
home  to  the  minds  of  the  pupils. 

Apparatus  Useful  in  Teaching  the  Alphabet.—^ 
By  reference  to  the  directions  given  on  teach- 


FURNITURE  AND  APPARATUb:  295 

ing  the  Alphabet  from  charts,  and  teaching  with 
letter  blocks,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  system  re- 
quires a  full  supply  of  simple  apparatus  for  the 
use  of  the  beginners  in  the  primary  schools. 

A  "  reading  case "  has  been  constructed  so 
as  to  contain  a  series  of  ten  or  more  charts  in 
such  manner  as  will  admit  of  the  production  of 
combinations  of  three  words  in  great  variety  and 
in  rapid  succession,  by  the  moving  of  slats.  This 
apparatus  may  be  used  to  advantage  in  exer- 
cises of  pronouncing  and  spelling  at  sight,  and 
also  in  the  first  lessons  in  grammar. 

Apparatus  Useful  in  Teaching  Arithmetic, — 
The  "  numeral  frame "  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  commonest  of  the  mechanical  devices  em- 
ployed in  teaching  arithmetic.  It  consists  of  a 
frame  inclosing  twelve  wire  cords,  each  cord 
bearing  twelve  large  wooden  beads ;  the  cords 
are  of  sufficient  length  to  admit  of  the  separa- 
tion of  the^  beads  into  distinct  groups.  This 
frame  is  convenient  to  exercise  the  beginners 
in  arithmetic  in  counting  objects,  and  in  adding, 
subtracting,  multiplying  and  dividing  objects. 
Its  use  is  so  obvious  and  the  exercises  so 
numerous  and  simple  that  explicit  directions 
are  unnecessary. 

The  liberal  use  of  the  slate,  blackboards  and 
charts  has  elsewhere  been  urged.  Every  school 
should  be  provided  with  several  small  portable 


296  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

blackboards  and  a  suitable  frame  upon  which  to 
place  them  before  the  school.  Such  boards  will 
be  employed  by  teachers  in  drilling  classes  and 
the  whole  school  in  standard  exercises,  not  only 
in  arithmetic,  but  also  in  music,  geography,  his- 
tory, grammar,  botany  and  other  sciences.  A 
full  supply  of  charts  will  diminish  the  use  of 
portable  boards  ;  nevertheless,  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  blackboard  surface,  of  good  quality  and 
convenient  form,  is  one  of  the  essential  requisites 
to  every  active,  earnest  teacher,  and  no  school- 
house  should  be  deficient  in  this  respect. 

Arithmetical  Charts. — Recently  a  great  im- 
provement has  been  made  in  arithmetical  charts. 
By  a  mechanical  device  the  old  series  of  charts 
has  been  superseded,  or  rather  the  numerous 
single  charts  have  been  combined  into  one,  which 
is  so  arranged  on  rollers,  inclosed  in  a  case,  as 
to  make  it  possible  to  present  to  a  class,  in  rapid 
succession,  simple  combination's  of  numbers  in 
almost  endless  variations.  The  use  of  such  a 
contrivance  enables  a  teacher,  by  simply  turn- 
ing a  crank,  to  produce  exercises  in  numeration, 
addition,  subtraction,  multiplication  and  division 
instantly,  whenever  required.  This  is,  there- 
fore, one  of  the  greatest  time-saving  inventions 
yet  produced  by  apparatus-makers,  and  should 
speedily  take  the  place  of  the  numerous  series 
of  single  arithmetical  charts  now  in  use. 


FURNITURE  AND  APPARATUS,  29/ 

Solids, — Every  school  should  be  well  provided 
with  form  models — samples  of  cubes,  spheres, 
spheroids,  cylinders,  cones,  prisms,  pyramids, 
etc. — convenient  for  illustration.  The  uses  of 
these  forms  are  so  obviou^  that  it  is  surprising 
any  school  should  be  without  them.  They  may 
be  purchased  at  small  cost,  or  made  in  the  vil- 
lage '•  cabinet-shop." 

Apparatus  Useful  in  Teaching  Geography. — 
The  first  lessons  in  geography  consist  in  a 
study  of  the  earth's  surface.  It  is,  however, 
but  a  very  small  portion  of  it  that  can  be 
studied  by  direct  observation  ;  hence  the  neces- 
sity of  employing  apparatus  to  represent  to  the 
mind  those  portions  that  do  not  come  under 
immediate  observation. 

The  transition  between  the  thing  itself  and 
the  representation  should  at  first  be  as  slight 
as  possible.  It  is  less  in  passing  from  the 
study  of  the  earth,  by  oral  lessons,  to  the  study 
on  a  globe  than  to  a  map ;  hence  the  study  of 
the  globes  should  precede  the  study  of  maps. 
The  globe  gives  the  true  shape  of  the  earth, 
which  maps  do  not.  It  also  represents  the  cor- 
rect form  of  the  bodies  of  land  and  water,  which 
on  maps  are  necessarily  more  or  less  distorted. 

No  school,  therefore,  should  be  without  a 
globe.  Next  to  the  blackboard,  this  is  prob- 
ably  the   most   important   piece   of  apparatus 


298  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

used  in  teaching.  From  the  globe,  and  with- 
out the  use  of  maps  and  text-books,  pupils  may 
be  taught  the  shape,  the  size  and  the  surface 
composition  of  the  earth,  the  names,  relative 
location  and  the  comparative  sizes  of  the  bodies 
of  land  and  water  lying  on  the  earth's  surface. 

Map-drawing. — The  most  effective  method  of 
studying  maps  is  by  map-drawing ;  all  necessary 
materials  and  apparatus  for  map -drawing  should 
therefore  be  provided.  A  complete  set  of  out- 
line maps,  properly  mounted  on  rollers  and 
frames,  convenient  for  exhibition,  suitable  paper, 
books  and  pencils,  are  among  the  essentials  in 
an  outfit  for  a  class  in  geography. 

Tellurian. — A  skillful  teacher  may  succeed 
in  teaching  mathematical  geography  from  a 
globe,  but  where  rigid  economy  does  not  deny  it, 
the  school  should  be  provided  with  one  of  those 
ingenious  mechanical  combinations  of  spheres 
known  as  the  "  Tellurian,"  "  Lunatellus "  or 
**  Heliotellus." 

These  instruments  are  chiefly  useful  in  teach- 
ing the  revolutions  of  the  earth  around  the  sun 
and  on  its  axis,  the  effects  of  these  motions,  the 
changes  of  seasons  and  their  causes,  the  phe- 
nomena of  day  and  night,  the  variations  in  the 
length  of  days  and  nights,  the  rising  and  setting 
of  the  sun  and  other  terrestrial  and  celestial 
phenomena. 


FURNITURE  AND  APPARATUS.  2gg 

The  apparatus  important  in  the  successful 
teaching  of  geography,  therefore,  is  a  globe,  a 
complete  set  of  maps  and  an  instrument  to 
illustrate  the  motions  of  the  earth  and  celestial 
spheres. 

Outline  Maps. — ^The  value  of  outline  maps  to 
the  teacher  and  learner  in  geography  is  so  well 
established  that  no  school  should  be  without 
.them.  As  the  object  of  these  maps  is  to  de- 
termine and  impress  the  outline  features  of  the 
general  divisions,  natural  and  political,  those  are 
best  which  adhere  most  strictly  to  this  purpose. 
Detail  in  delineation  is  out  of  place.  The  maps 
should  be  so  arranged  in  the  school-room  as  to 
be  convenient  for  use.  The  whole  school  may 
engage  in  exercises  on  the  boundaries,  capitals 
and  prominent  physical  features  in  lessons  that 
will  interest  and  instruct  all  classes  of  pupils. 
By  reference  to  the  chapter  on  management,* 
teachers  will  find  suggestions  for  the  use  of 
maps  in  oral  instructions,  reviews  of  past  les- 
sons and  preparations  for  those  to  come. 

A  convenient  device  has  been  constructed 
whereby  maps  and  charts  are  so  arranged  on 
frames,  in  a  wooden  case,  that  any  map  may  be 
exhibited  before  the  class  at  any  time,  while 
those  not  in  use  are  protected  from  dust  and 
exposure. 

*  Page  87. 


300  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

Few  schoolrooms  have  sufficient  blank  wall 
on  which  to  suspend  the  maps  that  are  needed 
by  the  teacher,  and  where  there  is  room  enough, 
it  is  usually  above  the  blackboard.  The  charts 
suspended  there  are  out  of  convenient  reach, 
and  consequently  are  seldom  used.  These 
difficulties  are  avoided  by  the  use  of  this  "  map 
and  chart  case." 


GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS. 

In  addition  to  the  articles  already  enumerated, 
every  schoolroom  should  be  furnished  with  suit- 
able cases  and  drawers  for  the  reception  of  books, 
apparatus,  mineral  and  botanical  specimens,  with 
a  clock,  call-bell,  class-bell  and  a  few  chairs  for 
visitors.  These  are  deemed  necessaries  ;  many 
other  articles  and  appliances  are  highly  useful, 
and,  generally,  school  authorities  who  are  so  for- 
tunate as  to  have  secured  the  services  of  a  suc- 
cessful, earnest,  progressive  teacher  will  do  well 
to  supply  him  with  anything,  that  in  his  judgment 
would  aid  him  in  his  efforts  to  instruct  those  who 
are  sent  to  his  school.  Too  often  teachers  are 
crippled,  embarrassed  and  discouraged  by  the 
exercise  of  a  mistaken  economy  on  the  part  of 
patrons.  The  addition  of  the  small  sum  of  one 
hundred  dollars  to  the  cost  of  erecting  and  fur- 
nishing  a   schoolhouse   would,  in   many  cases. 


FURNITURE  AND    APPARATUS.  3OI 

greatly  increase  the  educating  powers  of  the 
teacher,  and  thus  add  incalculable  value  to  the 
expenditures  already  made.  The  mechanic,  who 
compels  his  journeyman  to  work  with  dull  and 
unsuitable  tools,  robs  himself,  the  farmer,  who 
permits  his  hired  man  to  use  heavy,  inconvenient 
implements,  and  to  drive  slow  and  poorly-fed 
horses,  defrauds  himself;  so  likewise  men,  who 
withhold  from  a  school-teacher  the  most  approved 
appliances  of  his  profession,  simply,  to  that  ex- 
tent, diminish  his  power  to  serve  them.  It  is  the 
highest  wisdom  and  the  surest  economy  to  sup- 
ply proper  implements  and  to  exact  the  best 
services,  not  only  in  the  art  of  mechanism  and 
common  labor,  but  also  in  the  Art  of  Teaching. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


HIGHER    EDUCATION. 

YSTEMS  of  education  as  they  now 
exist  in  all  civilized  nations  have  been 
propagated  downward.  Universities 
in  Europe  and  colleges  in  America 
are  the  parents  of  all  schools  of  lower  grades, 
even  the  public  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. The  parent  schools  gave  form,  character 
and  scope  to  all  others.  Means  of  education, 
objects  of  education,  systems  of  education, 
courses  of  study  and  methods  of  teaching  now 
in  use,  have  been  dictated,  or  suggested  by  uni- 
versities and  colleges,  or  they  have  been  drawn 
from  these  and  spread  down  over  all  that  is 
below  the  fountain-head,  carried  forward  by  the 
ceaseless  current  of  learning  and  schoolmasters 
that  came  from  higher  institutions. 

It  is  inimical  to  the  pure  atmosphere  of  uni- 
versity and  college  culture  to  admit  of  the  prac- 
ticability of  constructing  courses  of  study  with 

302 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  303 

respect  to  direct  utility.  In  the  higher  insti- 
tutions the  theory  is,  and  correctly  too,  that 
study  is  prosecuted  chiefly  for  purposes  of  dis- 
cipline, that  ideas  of  liberal  culture  are  incom- 
patible with  limitations  and  technicalities  im- 
posed by  special,  or  professional  requirements. 
According  to  the  university  system,  all  persons 
destined  for  positions  in  the  learned  professions 
must  first  pass  a  course  of  educational  training, 
calculated  to  discipline  the  faculties  of  the  mind 
without  the  risk  of  limiting  them  to  the  narrow 
channel  of  a  particular  profession.  Men  whose 
preparatory  education  has  been  conducted  with 
sole  reference  to  use  in  the  profession  in  which 
they  are  destined  to  engage,  are,  with  rare 
exceptions,  at  the  age  of  maturity,  so  wholly 
absorbed  in  the  work  of  their  chosen  profession, 
that  other  concerns  of  life  receive  from  them 
little  or  no  attention.  Such  men  are  usually 
narrow,  one-sided,  impractical,  in  short,  useless 
men  for  any  purposes  of  society  beyond  their 
professional  routine.  It  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  painful  to  witness  the  blundering  efforts 
and  ludicrous  conceits  of  men  distinguished  in 
some  one  of  the  learned  professions,  but  wholly 
Ignorant  of  many  of  the  life  problems  requiring 
practical  solutions  in  the  progress  of  society 
and  for  the  advancement  of  humanity. 

The  efforts  of  the  ruling  classes  in  educational 


304  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL, 

affairs  in  all  nations  have  ever  been  put  forth  to 
provide,  for  young  men,  first,  a  liberal  training 
by  instructions  in  branches  of  learning  chosen 
solely  with  reference  to  their  influences  as  dis- 
ciplining powers  to  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind. 
The  whole  field  of  mental  culture  has  been 
claimed  on  the  one  side  by,  and  surrendered  on 
the  other  side  to.  the  authorities  governing  these 
institutions  of  learning.  Technical  schools,  such 
as  institutions  of  theology,  medicine,  law  and 
polytechnics,  have  been  encouraged  as  training 
schools,  wherein  educated  men  may  be  in- 
structed in  the  sciences  and  arts  of  professions. 
It  thus  happens  that  the  authorities,  the  faculties 
in  universities  and  in  colleges,  regard  all  schools, 
not  technical,  as  simply  preparatory  schools  to 
their  institutions.  Academies  are  under  the 
supervision  of  graduates  from  the  universities 
and  colleges ;  their  system  of  teaching  is  that 
which  was  learned  in  these  universities  and  col- 
leges ;  the  organization  of  private  schools  and 
of  select  schools  is  projected  from  the  same 
initial  sources ;  "  high  schools,"  graded  schools, 
mixed  schools,  all  schools,  inherit  their  organiza- 
tions, their  courses  of  study,  their  methods  of 
teaching,  from  the  same  general  ancestry. 

The  assumption  that  public  schools  of  all 
grades  and  academies  are  to  be  organized  and 
conducted  as  preparatory  schools  for  colleges 


HIGHER  EDUCATION.  305 

and  universities,  has  proven  the  source  of  incal- 
culable mischief.  Scarcely  one  in  ten  thousand 
of  the  boys  and  girls,  who  are  in  the  public 
schools,  ever  apply  to  the  colleges  and  univer- 
sities for  matriculation.  The  one  who  pursues 
the  course  of  study,  entered  upon  in  the  public 
schools,  through  the  academy  and  into  the  col- 
lege is  benefitted  thereby,  but  his  ten  thousand 
companions,  whose  education  goes  no  further 
than  the  common- school  course,  would  have 
derived,  much  more  benefit  from  their  years 
of  study,  if  the  course  of  instruction  had  been 
constructed  with  reference  to  their  wants ;  if 
the  elements  of  the  material  sciences,  as  far 
as  the  limits  of  the  course  would  admit  of, 
had  been  made  the  subjects  of  study,  the  time 
would  have  been  much  more  profitably  ex- 
pended. The  colleges  require  for  matriculation, 
the  study  of  mathematics  to  a  prescribed  ex- 
tent, the  study  of  English  grammar,  the  study 
of  geography  and  the  reading  of  a  limited  quan- 
tity of  Latin  and  Greek.  This  requirement 
imposes  upon  the  public  schools  of  the  lower 
grades  the  duty  of  instructing  pupils  in  mathe- 
matics, grammar  and  geography,  and  upon  the 
academies  and  high  schools  the  duty  of  in- 
structing the  pupils  in  Latin  and  Greek  gram- 
mar. It  stands  directly  across  the  path  of 
useful   learning,    and    obstinately   hinders    the 

26*  u 


306  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

progress  of  a  much  needed  reconstruction  In 
the  public-school  course.  When  the  true  rela- 
tions between  the  public  schools  and  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning  shall  have  been  deter- 
mined, the  province  and  scope  of  each  defined, 
the  people,  the  masses,  who  are  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  will  be  able  to  procure  such  a 
course  of  instruction  In  their  own  schools,  as  Is 
most  consistent  with  the  objects  for  which  they 
were  established — namely,  to  Instruct  the  youths 
of  the  state  in  the  elements  of  knowledge.  The 
comparatively  few,  who  are  able  to  study  sci- 
ence and  literature  for  purposes  of  culture,  will 
find  ample  opportunity  in  academies  and  city 
"  high  schools"  to  make  that  special  preparation 
which  is  required  for  admission  to  colleges.  But 
it  Is  certainly  imposing  great  Injury  upon  the 
masses  to  insist,  that  their  schools  shall  be  re- 
stricted to  the  narrow  duty  of  preparing  boys 
for  college,  when  only  one  of  these  boys  out  of 
several  thousands  ever  enters  the  higher  insti- 
tutions. The  public  schools,  established  for  the 
education  of  the  millions,  are  unlike  all  other 
classes  and  grades  of  schools ;  the  distinguish- 
ing feature  of  the  public  schools  Is  breadth;  the 
characteristic  of  other  Institutions  is  height  and 
depth ;  the  former  seek  to  give  useful  know- 
ledge to  all,  the  latter  seek,  by  a  system  of  dis- 
ciplinary studies,  "  to  quicken  the  Intellect  and 


HIGHER  EDUCATION,  307 

form  It  to  habits  of  method,  of  analysis  and  of 
comprehension." 

Higher  education  begins  at  the  point  where 
the  accumulation  of  knowledge  ceases  to  be  the 
primary  object  of  study,  and  discipline  takes  its 
place.  This  point  is  not  within  the  sphere  of 
ordinary  public-school  education;  it  lies  between 
the  grammar  and  high  schools  in  large  cities, 
or  between  the  public  schools  and  academies. 
Whoever  labors  to  make  the  public  schools  do 
the  work  of  academies,  to  make  them  schools  of 
culture  Instead  of  schools  for  the  teaching  of 
useful  knowledge,  Is  an  enemy  to  public-school 
education,  and  to  the  extent  of  his  ability  works 
an  Injury  to  the  Commonwealth.  The  propor- 
tion of  pupils  In  the  lower  grades  of  schools  In 
the  large  cities  of  the  United  States,  who  enter 
the  high  schools,  is  exceedingly  small.  The 
great  masses  are  not  In  circumstances  that  will 
admit  of  the  pursuit  of  learning  for  purposes  of 
culture ;  they  attend  school  a  few  years  In  order 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  elocu- 
tion, arithmetic,  geography  and  penmanship,  and 
enough  practice  to  give  facility  in  the  use  of 
such  knowledge,  then  to  work,  to  trades,  to 
business.  Into  the  whirl  and  the  toils  of  the  life 
struggle,  common  to  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  this  country.  Because  of  this 
necessity,  inherited  by  most  men,  the  purpose 


08  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 


of  the  public-school  course  must  ever  be  the 
acquisition  of  useful  knowledge.  In  the  pro- 
cesses of  study  and  methods  of  instruction,  it 
should  be  the  aim  of  teachers  in  these  schools 
to  infuse  lessons,  both  ethical  and  sesthetical,  so 
as  to  inspire  the  souls  of  the  young  with  a  love 
for  the  good  and  the  beautiful. 

The  profession  of  teaching  requires  the  high- 
est culture  in  its  members,  who,  while  instruct- 
ing children  in  the  elements  of  useful  knowledge, 
may  pour  into  the  thirsting,  capacious  spirits  of 
childhood  copious  draughts  of  living  waters  fresh 
from  the  fountain  of  perfect  knowledge.  Moral 
culture  is  not  to  be  made  the  subject  of  occa- 
sional instruction.  In  the  daily  exercises  of  the 
school,  in  the  conduct  of  teacher  and  pupils,  in 
the  illustrations  of  truths,  the  demonstrations  of 
principles,  the  observations  of  facts  and  phenom- 
ena, in  all  places  and  at  at  all  times,  the  spiritual 
growth  of  the  pupils  should  be  jealously  guard- 
ed and  affectionately  encouraged.  A  sense  of 
personal  spiritual  worthiness  should  be  incul- 
cated. Children  of  all  ages  and  conditions  in 
life  should  be  taught  to  hold  themselves  in  high 
respect,  to  do  nothing  that  will  invoke  self-cen- 
sure, or  self-condemnation,  the  forerunners  of 
degradation  and  debasement.  Active,  conscien- 
tious teaching  may,  in  ways  innumerable,  scatter 
seeds  of  the  good  and  the  true,  that  will  take 


HIGHER  EDUCATION.  309 

root,  and  in  the  end  come  to  a  glorious  fruition, 
culminating  in  moral  and  religious  culture. 

The  few  who  pass  into  the  city  high  schools 
and  into  the  academies  go  there  in  order  to 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  a  disciplinary  course  of 
instruction,  incompatible  with  the  objects  of  the 
schools  for  the  masses.  The  higher  institutions 
must,  therefore,  if  they  are  to  satisfy  the  long- 
ings of  those  who  enter  them,  provide  ample 
facilities,  in  a  skillfully-devised  curriculum,  for  a 
disciplinary  training  that  will  give  power  and 
goodness  as  its  resultant. 

The  science  of  language,  pure  mathematics, 
the  philosophy  of  the  mind  and  cosmology 
may  properly  find  place  in  a  disciplinary  course 
of  studies.  Language,  mathematics  and  science, 
in  their  numerous  systems  and  combinations, 
present  a  series  of  subjects  which  can  be  studied 
in  groups  of  three,  so  that  the  student  will  daily 
recite  a  lesson  in  language,  in  science  and  in 
mathematics.  The  curriculum  of  studies  should 
be  so  constructed  as  to  present  only  three  stud- 
ies to  a  student  in  each  term.  The  Faculty 
should  be  so  organized  as  to  provide  a  teacher 
for  each  department  of  language  and  literature, 
mathematics,  and  philosophy.  Whether  in  a 
high  school,  an  academy,  or  college,  no  man  is  a 
mental  Briareus,  and  he  who  attempts  to  teach 
classes  in  a  wide  range  of  diversified  subjects 


3  TO  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

will  not  teach  anything  thoroughly.  A  teacher, 
to  be  successful,  must  be  a  student ;  the  higher 
the  grade  of  institution  in  which  he  teaches,  the 
more  imperative  the  necessity  for  close  applica- 
tion to  study.  A  professor  in  a  college,  or  acad- 
emy, and  a  teacher  in  a  high  school,  who  is  not 
a  close  student,  no  matter  what  his  educational 
advantages  have  been,  is  at  best  a  superficial, 
technical,  narrow  teacher,  and  qualis  magister, 
talis  discipulus. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

GOVERNMENT. 

OVERNMENT,  as  applied  to  indi- 
viduals, is  derived  from  two  sources: 
the  governing  power  is  within  and 
directs,  or  it  is  without  and  controls. 
Either  men  govern  themselves,  or  they  are 
governed  by  others.  A  man  who  governs 
himself  is  a  positive  element  in  the  government 
of  society ;  a  man  who  does  not  govern  himself 
is  either  a  passive,  or  a  negative  element  in  the 
government  of  society.  Those  who  do  not 
govern  themselves  must  be  governed.  To  the 
self-governed  belongs  the  right,  and  upon  them 
is  imposed  the  duty,  of  governing  those  who  do 
not  govern  themselves.  Laws  have  their  origin 
in,  and  derive  their  force  from  that  part  of  the 
population  of  the  Commonwealth  that  is  self- 
governing.  It  is  they  who  establish,  support 
and  defend  governments ;  it  is  they  who  enact 
just  laws  and  mercifully  enforce  them.  Where 
the  population  of  any  state  is  nearly  equall)' 

311 


312  ART  OF   TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

divided  between  the  self-governing  and  the  non- 
self-governing  citizens,  the  government  will  ne- 
cessarily be  unstable,  but  where  the  self-govern- 
ing element  largely  predominates  in  the  citizen- 
ship of  any  state,  the  government  will  be  secure 
in  its  establishment,  equitable  in  its  provisions 
and  just  in  its  enforcement  of  laws.  The  train- 
ing institutions  of  a  government,  therefore, 
should  be  so  organized  and  conducted  as  to 
cultivate  habits  of  self-government.  A  Com- 
monwealth is  strengthened  and  enriched  by  the 
growth  of  a  self-governing  population,  but  it 
is  weakened  and  impoverished  by  the  increase 
of  a  class  of  citizens  that  must  be  controlled, 
that  must  be  constrained,  that  must  be  forced 
to  obey  righteous  laws. 

The  public  schools  are  institutions  of  the 
Commonwealth;  in  them  the  youth  should  be 
educated,  not  only  in  the  elements  of  useful 
knowledge,  but  they  should  be  trained  in  the 
exercise  of  their  mental  forces,  so  as  to  enable 
them  to  grow  up  useful,  power-giving  and 
wealth-producing  citizens.  The  genius  of  the 
government  of  the  Commonwealth  should  find 
an  exemplification  in  the  government  of  every 
school  in  that  Commonwealth.  It  is  not  enough 
for  the  purposes  of  the  state,  that  the  schools 
shall  be  so  governed  as  to  maintain  order  and 
to  enforce  discipline.     Order  must  be  secured 


GO  VERNMENT.  3 1 3 

and  discipline  must  be  sustained,  not  through 
physical  power,  or  the  fear  which  arises  from 
the  apprehension  of  the  exercise  of  the  physi- 
cal power  possessed  by  the  teacher,  but  they 
must  be  the  result  of  a  system  of  training  that 
cultivates  in  the  pupils  habits  of  self-govern- 
ment. 

A  code  of  laws,  or  rules  submitted  for  the 
government  of  a  school  is  not  very  likely  to 
secure  permanent  good.  A  more  profitable 
method  will  be  found  in  the  explanation  and 
application  of  a  few  of  the  simple  fundamental 
rules  of  life — those  principles  which  should 
govern  the  actions  of  men  and  their  conduct 
toward  others.  Duty  to  self,  duty  to  others, 
are  texts  upon  which  the  teacher  may  enlarge 
until  he  is  quite  certain  that  their  full  force  is 
understood  and  felt  by  all  the  pupils — how 
injury  intended  for  others  reverts  upon  self; 
how  every  act  inconsistent  with  the  highest  duty 
to  others  reflects  upon  and  debases  the  actor  ; 
how  the  happiness  of  children  and  of  adults 
may  be  destroyed  by  selfishness,  by  covetous- 
ness,  by  prevarication,  by  falsehoods,  by  de- 
ceptions ;  how  doing  good  to  others  ennobles 
one's  self,  expands  one's  power,  enlarges  the 
heart  of  the  actor.  "  Therefore,  all  things  what- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do 
ye  even  so  to  them :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the 

27 


314  ART  OF   TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

prophets."  This  should  be  made  the  funda- 
mental law,  the  constitution,  of  every  school 
government ;  it  may  be  explained,  illustrated  and 
applied  as  circumstances  arise  in  the  conduct 
of  school  affairs. 

These  general  suggestions  are  applicable  to 
schools  of  all  grades,  and  will  differ  only  in 
methods  of  application,  as  the  capacity  and  com- 
prehension of  the  members  of  the  school  may 
indicate.  In  primary  and  mixed  schools  the 
teacher  should,  on  the  day  of  opening  the  term, 
and  at  proper  intervals  thereafter,  explain  in  a 
general  way  the  purposes  for  which  the  school 
is  established,  the  objects  for  which  pupils  at- 
tend it.  He  may  show  how,  by  misconduct  of 
any  sort,  these  objects  may  be  thwarted  and  the 
purpose  defeated,  and  how,  by  the  proper  con- 
duct of  each  pupil,  the  interests  of  all  will  be 
promoted.  Every  pupil  comes  to  school  to  ac- 
quire knowledge ;  each  Individual  should  ad- 
dress himself  to  that  work,  and  should  recognize 
the  fact,  that  all  of  his  associates  are  there  for 
the  same  purpose.  Teachers  are  employed  at 
considerable  expense  to  the  district,  not  to  main- 
tain order  among  the  boys  and  girls,  to  govern 
them,  but  to  teach  them,  to  aid  them  in  their 
efforts  to  accumulate  knowledge.  If,  therefore, 
a  teacher  Is  required  to  devote  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  time  to  enforcing  discipline,  the 


GO  VERNMENT,  3  1 5 

pupils  will  to  that  extent  be  defrauded  of  his 
services  as  an  instructor  and  assistant  in  their 
labors. 

Whenever,  during  the  progress  of  the  school, 
cases  of  infractions  of  good  conduct  occur,  the 
teacher  may  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  to 
explain  how  such  conduct  affects  the  whole 
school,  how  it  injures  every  member  of  that 
school,  how  it  disturbs  the  general  good  order, 
how  it  interferes  with  the  application  of  the  mind 
to  healthful  study,  how  it  exerts  generally  a  de- 
moralizing influence  on  the  whole  school.  He 
thus  shows  that  any  member  of  the  school  guilty 
of  such  breach  of  order  is  in  reality  a  public  en- 
emy, not  only  injuring  himself,  but  injuring  all 
his  associates  and  companions ;  that  he  is  not 
sinning  against  the  teacher,  but  against  his  fel- 
low-pupils. Then  the  moral  force  of  the  com- 
munity is  invoked  to  suppress  unruliness.  Those 
who  govern  themselves  exert  an  influence  over 
others  far  more  keenly  felt  by  the  offender  than 
any  words,  or  chastisement,  that  could  be  inflicted 
by  the  teacher.  There  is  a  public  sentiment  in 
favor  of  good  order,  and  whoever  in  the  least 
violates  good  order  in  the  school  encounters 
that  public  sentiment,  and  is  thereby  rebuked. 

A  general  system  of  government,  based  upon 
the  self-governing  elements  in  the  schools,  is 
preferable  to  a  code  of  prescribed  laws,  for  the 


3l6  ART  OF  TEACHING   SCHOOL. 

reason  that  it  cultivates  habits  of  self-govern- 
ment in  all  the  pupils  and  exhibits  the  force  of 
that  power,  whenever  a  restraining  influence  is 
required  to  maintain  order.  Rules  cannot  be 
devised  to  meet  every  case  of  discipline  required 
in  school  government.  The  circumstances  that 
invoked  the  offence,  the  character  of  the  offender, 
the  general  discipline  of  the  school,  the  public 
sentiment  in  the  neighborhood,  the  social  status 
of  the  offending  pupil,  his  health,  his  age,  and 
many  other  considerations, — enter  as  important 
elements  in  the  case,  which  the  teacher  is  called 
upon  to  try  and  to  determine  and  to  punish. 
If  laws  are  laid  down,  they  must  be  enforced,  or 
they  invoke  demoralization,  yet  it  not  unfrequent- 
ly  happens,  that  the  enforcement  of  the  law  works 
a  greater  injury  than  its  violation. 

Teachers  must  be  careful  not  to  require  too 
much  of  pupils,  not  to  set  up  a  Procrustean 
frame,  to  the  length  of  which  every  pupil  must 
be  stretched  or  chopped.  The  inflexibility  of 
rules  and  the  flexibility  of  the  self-governing 
system  makes  the  latter  eminently  preferable, 
under  circumstances  w^here  the  largest  variety 
of  cases  are  most  likely  to  arise,  in  the  treatment 
of  which  love  and  mercy  must  always  temper 
the  administration  of  justice. 

The  doctrines  of  proper  respect  for  the  rights 
and  conditions  of  others  should  be  thoroughly 


GOVERNMENT.  317 

inculcated.  Whether  in  moving  about  the  school- 
room, whether  in  passing  in  and  out,  whether  in 
going  to  and  returning  from  school,  pupils  should 
be  instructed  to  so  conduct  themselves  as  to 
enjoy  the  largest  liberty  and  the  fullest  freedom 
of  conduct,  compatible  with  a  similar  enjoyment 
of  these  rights  and  privileges  by  those  with 
whom  they  are  associated.  Teachers  must 
closely  observe  the  conduct  of  their  pupils  in 
all  the  relations  of  school-day  life,  and  wher- 
ever a  breach  of  the  general  idea  of  equality  of 
rights  and  the  enjoyment  of  privileges  occur, 
the  proper  remedy  should  be  applied  in  such 
way  as  will  direct  the  attention  of  the  members 
of  the  school  to  the  fact,  that  such  conduct  as 
calls  forth  -rebuke  is  a  trespass  upon  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  society.  How  these  same 
principles  are  applicable  to  the  affairs  of  life, 
teachers  may  frequently  explain  and  illustrate. 
By  a  system  of  government  thus  derived  and 
founded,  morality  is  taught  in  the  every-day  life 
of  the  school-room,  and  a  high  degree  of  moral 
culture  is  secured,  which  will  ever  manifest  itself 
in  the  self-governing  conduct  of  the  pupils  in 

every  vicissitude  of  life. 
27* 


J 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

BOOKS,   MANUFACTURE  AND    SALE. 

|HE  public  good  requires  that  the  book 
question,  as  it  affects  the  public 
schools,  should  be  settled  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  people.  The  rapacity  of 
school-book  publishers  must  be  repressed.  The 
corrupting  influence  of  the  trade  as  now  prac- 
ticed must  be  counteracted,  and  the  character 
of  the  books  to  be  used  by  the  people  must  be 
radically  improved.  The  frequent  changes  from 
one  series  of  books  to  another,  in  all  the  branches 
taught  in  the  public  schools,  has  greatly  increased 
the  labor  of  school-directors,  is  embarrassing  to 
teachers,  expensive  to  parents  and  demoralizing 
to  pupils.  The  chief  abuse  is  found  first,  in 
the  multiplication  of  books  into  an  extended 
series  on  each  common- school  branch.  This 
pernicious  practice  has  grown  out  of  the  nature 
of  the  schools  as  they  were  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ago.  There  was  then  no  classification ; 
each  pupil  brought  such  book  into  school  as  he 


BOOKS,  MANUFACTURE  AND  SALE.  319 

chanced  to  find  at  home,  and  prosecuted  his 
studies  as  best  he  might  alone.  Thus,  for  exam- 
ple, an  arithmetic  of  some  forgotten  author  was 
used  by  a  pupil,  who  sat  at  his  desk  solving  such 
problems  as  he  was  able  to,  and  applied  to  the 
teacher  for  solutions  of  those  beyond  his  com- 
prehension ;  all  of  these  were  transferred  from 
the  slate  into  the  "sum-book."  The  pupils 
were  in  no  case  arranged  in  classes,  so  as  to 
study  arithmetic  together,  and  never  received 
explanations  of  the  principles  thereof  from  the 
teacher. 

Similar  methods  obtained  in  the  study  of 
reading,  geography  and  grammar;  only  two  or 
three  "  readers  '*  were  in  use ;  a  history  of  the 
United  States,  some  general  history,  the  New 
Testament,  or  any  miscellaneous  book  might  be 
taken  into  school  and  read.  Where  two  or 
more  pupils  happened  to  have  the  same  book, 
they  were  placed  in  a  class  together.  This  was 
of  old  the  uniform  practice.  The  system  of 
classifying  the  pupils  in  the  public  schools  is  of 
recent  adoption ;  the  advantages  of  the  change 
are  so  universally  admitted  that  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  present  an  ai«gument  here  in  its 
favor.  In  all  schools,  pupils  of  the  same  aver- 
age capacity  are  now  required  to  purchase  the 
same  books  and  to  pursue  their  studies  together. 
All  that  was  formerly  taught  in  the  majority  of 


320  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

the  public  schools  was  reading  and  arithmetic. 
In  a  few  isolated  cases,  geography,  or  grammar 
was  taught. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  pupils  from  the 
age  of  six  years  to  sixteen,  the  usual  school- 
years,  were  compelled  to  devote  all  of  that  period 
of  ten  important  years  to  the  study  of  two  or 
three,  or  at  most  four,  branches.  Book  pub- 
lishers were  quick  to  discover  that  here  was  oc- 
casion for  the  multiplication  of  books.  Keep- 
ing a  bright  boy  or  girl  on  the  subject  of  arith- 
metic for  eight  or  ten  years  was  a  feat,  not  to  be 
accomplished  by  the  use  of  a  single  book ;  there- 
fore the  idea  of  a  "  primary,"  a  "  common-school" 
and  a  "higher  arithmetic"  was  originated  and 
speedily  became  a  practical  fact.  The  same  ob- 
servation may  be  made  with  reference  to  other 
public-school  branches. 

The  subject  of  English  grammar  is  served  up 
in  three  books,  the  "  Elementary,"  the  "  Com- 
mon-school" and  the  ''Analytic."  Geography 
is  diluted  through  a  series  of  three  or  four 
books — the  "  Primary,"  the  "  Secondary'-,"  the 
"  Common-school "  and  the  "  Comprehensive." 
Arithmetic  has  far  outrun  its  original  scope,  and 
we  now  have  "  Mental,"  "  Intellectual,"  "  School 
Arithmetic"  and  "Higher  Arithmetic." 

The  occasion  for  the  multiplication  of  these 
books  was  not  in  any  sense  found  in  the  sub- 


BOOKS,  MANUFACTURE  AND  SALE.  32 1 

ject  of  the  sciences,  but  arose  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  schools,  which  was  taken  advan- 
tage of  by  bookmakers  and  converted  to  their 
own  profit.  The  extension  of  the  subject  of 
reading  into  a  series  of  six  or  eight  books  is  a 
scheme  invented  by,  and  solely  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  are  interested  in  making  and  sell- 
ing books.  As  to  arithmetic,  the  whole  subject, 
as  far  as  it  is  material  and  useful  to  teach  it  in 
the  public  schools,  to  the  millions  of  boys  and 
girls  who  frequent  them,  can  be  and  should  be 
treated  in  one  small  volume,  and  it  would  be  so 
treated  if  the  interests  of  the  people  alone  were 
consulted. 

The  schools  of  the  people  have  risen  from  the 
low  and  formative  condition  in  which  they  were 
held  thirty  years  ago.  The  whole  system  of  in- 
struction has  been  elevated,  more  is  demanded 
in  the  way  of  elementary  training,  and  more  is 
given.  Teaching,  which  was  then  deemed  to  be 
a  servile  vocation,  has  taken  an  honorable  posi- 
tion, and  is  with  forcible  dignity  asserting  its 
claims  to  be  ranked  as  one  of  the  "  learned  pro- 
fessions." Teachers  are  respected  because 
their  intellectual  attainments  and  their  general 
culture  and  high  social  qualities  command  the 
esteem  of  the  most  refined  circles  of  society. 
The  public  school  is  no  longer  a  place  wherein 
to  gain  a  litde  facility  in  the  art  of  reading,  writ- 


322  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

ing  and  ciphering,  but  an  institution  wherein  to 
instruct  the  youth  of  the  country  in  the  elements 
of  a  Hberal  education. 

The  whole  period  of  school-life  is  no  longer 
to  be  devoted  to  the  study  of  two  or  three  sim- 
ple branches,  to  which  is  attached  a  vulgar  idea 
of  utility.  A  number  of  sciences  have  been  so 
simplified  in  their  elements  by  the  progress  of 
investigation,  that  the  essential  truths  of  many 
of  these  can  be  successfully  taught  in  our  pub- 
lic schools.  Thus  has  been  simplified  the  science 
of  botany,  of  anatomy  and  physiology,  of  natural 
philosophy,  chemistry,  geology  and  astronomy. 
There  are  educated  teachers,  who  now  find 
employment  in  school-rooms,  able  .  to  teach 
these  sciences,  and  to  take  classes  through  alge- 
bra, geometry  and  surveying.  History,  no  longer 
used  as  a  mere  reading  book,  is  now  regularly 
taught  as  one  of  the  most  profitable  studies  in 
the  school.  Drawing,  physical  geography,  the 
elements  of  mechanics,  the  principles  of  engi- 
neering, have  been  so  reduced  to  system  that 
they  may  with  profit  be  introduced  into  the 
public  schools.  These  new  studies,  pressing 
upon  the  attention  of  the  pupil  and  demanding 
a  place  in  the  common  schools,  will  repress  the 
magnified  importance  heretofore  given  to  read- 
ing, arithmetic,  geography  and  grammar.  These 
sciences  are  found  to  be  more  useful  and  more 


BOOKS,  MANUFACTURE  AND  SALE.  323 

agreeable  than  those  which  they  assail  for  room, 
and  their  influence  on  the  minds  of  the  pupils  is 
more  salutary  and  elevating.  The  common 
schools  are  for  the  education  of  the  great  mil- 
lions in  this  country.  There  the  pupils  receive 
their  educational  training ;  comparatively  few  go 
beyond  the  elements  of  a  common-school  course. 
It  should  be  the  aim  of  those  who  have  in 
charge  the  arrangement  of  public-school  edu- 
cation, to  give  to  the  children  as  large  a  store 
of  facts  in  all  the  sciences  as  is  possible,  having 
regard  to  the  age,  comprehension  and  school- 
period  of  the  pupil.  Unquestionably,  therefore, 
the  system  of  bookmaking  must  be  changed. 
We  must  go  back  to  the  original  idea  of  treat- 
ing subjects  in  the  closest  compass  consistent 
with  a  fair  elucidation  of  the  principles,  necessary 
to  a  comprehension  of  the  science  under  consid- 
eration. Reading  must  be  taught  in  the  primer, 
speller  and  the  reader.  Arithmetic,  ''mental" 
and  "  written,"  must  be  compressed  within  the 
limits  of  one  common-school  book.  The  rules 
that  are  of  use  in  the  whole  range  of  business 
transactions  are  few  in  number  and  simple  in 
their  character;  these  can  be  explained  and 
illustrated  in  one  small,  convenient  volume. 
The  idea  that  books  must  be  lumbered  up  with 
puzzling  examples  to  weary  the  teacher,  embar- 
rass the  pupil  and  consume  time  is  one  of  those 


324  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

ancient  absurdities,  that  the  present  generation 
must  cast  away.  They  were  placed  in  our  books 
in  olden  times  because  they  served  to  discipline 
the  mind,  and  because  there  was  no  system  of 
physical  sciences  to  take  their  places  in  the  cur- 
riculum of  studies.  A  more  enlightened  philos- 
ophy teaches  us,  that  the  acquisition  of  know- 
ledge most  effectually  disciplines  the  mind,  and 
the  exploration  of  nature  in  the  operations  of 
science  furnishes  new  fields  wherein  to  reap  rich 
harvests  of  soul-inspiring  truths.  The  facts  in 
science,  and  the  philosophy  which  combines  these 
facts  into  sciences,  are  more  readily  acquired  and 
more  easily  comprehended  than  a  confused  and 
senseless  jumble  of  figures,  that  illustrate  pro- 
cesses useful  only  to  discipline,  and  even  in-  that 
sense  no  longer  profitable  exercises,  when  com- 
pared with  the  study  of  the  natural  sciences. 
The  mind  is  not  only  to  be  disciplined,  but  it  is 
to  be  stored  with  materials  upon  which  to  exer- 
cise its  thinking  powers.  There  is  little  danger 
that  book-publishers  will  not  be  quick  enough 
to  scent  this  new  condition  of  things  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  Authors  will  be  called  upon  to  con- 
dense their  numerous  series  into  single  volumes 
when  the  parent  insists  that  he  shall  purchase 
the  subject  of  arithmetic  in  one  small,  cheap 
book,  and  shall  not  be  taxed  with  the  expense  of 
four  or  five.     As  soon  as  the  pupil  discovers 


BOOKS,  MANUFACTURE  AND ^  SALE.  325 

that  the  subject  may  be  mastered  within  a  small 
compass,  and  as  soon  as  the  teacher  resolves  to 
carry  his  class  into  new  fields  of  discovery,  the 
majority  of  publishers  will  make  haste  to  supply 
the  demand.  The  onus  of  the  work,  therefore, 
necessary  to  break  down  this  bungling  system 
that  is  now  in  use,  and  of  substituting  one  that 
is  more  in  accordance  with  the  wants  of  the 
times,  rests  rather  with  school  men  than  with 
bookmakers. 

A  very  pernicious  practice,  demoralizing 
teachers  and  pupils,  increasing  the  expenses 
of  education  and  corrupting  the  school  authori- 
ties, is  the  system  by  which  worthless  school- 
books  are  frequently  infl^icted  upon  the  pub- 
lic. Agents  are  employed  at  great  expense 
and  are  sent  out  into  all  parts  of  the  country  to 
visit  school-directors,  to  ply  teachers  and  to 
labor  by  means,  both  honorable  and  dishonor- 
able, to  force  the  publications  they  represent  into 
schools.  It  thus  frequently  happens  that  without 
any  recommendation  of  superiority  whatever,  a 
series  of  books,  including  readers,  copy-books, 
arithmetics,  grammars  and  geographies,  in  use  in 
a  school-district,  are  thrown  out  and  new  books 
introduced.  The  parents  are  compelled  to  pur- 
chase books  that  are  in  no  way  superior — ^very 
often,  indeed,  not  equal — in  merit  to  those  that 
they  have  laid  aside.     Frequently  old  books  are 

28 


326  THE  ART  OF  TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

purchased  by  the  house  that  presents  the  new 
books;  in  other  instances  the  new  books  are 
given  gratuitously  to  those  who  have  the  old, 
but  it  must  be  apparent  to  every  one  possessed 
of  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  trade, 
that  all  this  loss,  this  extraordinary  expense,  must 
finally  be  made  up  by  the  sale  of  these  very 
books. 

School-books,  which  might  be  furnished  at 
small  cost,  are  made  expensive  by  the  system 
that  contributes  so  largely  to  demoralize  school- 
officers.  Book-publishers  themselves  have  felt 
the  full  effects  of  these  practices,  and  have 
labored  by  ''boards  of  trade'*  and  by  private 
agreements  to  repress  and  abolish  them,  but 
all  these  efforts  have  hitherto  failed.  The 
people,  therefore,  must  have  recourse  to 
legislation  for  their  own  protection,  as  well  as 
for  the  protection  of  bookmakers  and  booksell- 
ers. The  influence  of  normal  schools,  and  the 
fact  that  teachers  are  interested  in  the  elevation 
of  the  standard  of  qualification,  tend  to  hasten 
the  period,  when  the  number  of  books  to  be  used 
will  be  greatly  reduced.  Then  the  temptation 
to  grasp  and  control  a  trade  which  has  hitherto 
proven  a  prize  so  tempting  as  to  demoralize  and 
corrupt  all  who  engaged  in  it  will,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, be  removed.  The  facts  that  are  now  set  forth, 
and  repeated  through  numerous  combinations, 


BOOKS,  MANUFACTURE  AND  SALE.  327 

in  the  most  bungling  manner,  in  order  to  multiply 
books,  will  be  communicated  directly  and  prac- 
tically by  the  teacher,  and  the  principles,  which 
bind  these  facts  into  sciences,  will  be  elaborated 
in  convenient  books.  It  is  the  province  of 
normal  schools  and  teachers  to  hasten  this  pe- 
riod, and  when  it  arrives,  part  of  the  result 
will  be,  that  the  funds,  now  uselessly  expended 
in  the  purchase  of  books,  will  be  much  more 
profitably  employed  in  increasing  the  salaries 
of  teachers,  and  in  otherwise  strengthening  the 
forces,  that  tend  to  advance  and  perfect  the 
system  of  schools  and  methods  of  instruction, 
supported  by,  and  provided  for  the  education 
of,  all  the  people. 


f  OFTK£    *^A 

university] 

>  OF  / 


THE    END. 


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